Should you confess to cheating on your partner? This a million dollar question actually, that’s very hard to answer. Many believe that if cheating happened like a one-night stand or a quick fling, just push it under a carpet and behave nothing happened. Some say if you have to be honest you have to tell but that could mean dealing with hurt and emotional scenes.
When a close friend – let’s call him S – got in touch with me recently for help in dealing with ‘a tricky situation’, I instantly knew that I was in for an emotional exchange of epic proportions. He only needed to begin with “I was a little tipsy…”. And the rest I could easily guess.
He had been facing issues in his relationship for a while, and couldn’t stop gushing about a girl he recently met at a workshop.
Our conversation went on the following lines:
S: She understands me.
Me: Don’t we all understand each other in the beginning?
S: Perhaps, but this is different.
Me: Isn’t it always different in the beginning too?
S: Okay, so can we get to the main issue at hand?
He continued with his story and asked me finally, “Should I admit to it?”
Related Reading: Cheating In A Long-Distance Relationship – 18 Subtle Signs
Should You Confess To Cheating?
Table of Contents
My answer? Well, a rather straightforward “No.”
Here is the rationale behind my advice, which perhaps might be considered unconventional: I believe that while honesty is certainly a virtue, and coming clean a noble thing to do, those who admit to cheating – in my opinion – are simply unloading their guilt on another person – and that is a horribly selfish thing to do.
We all make choices, and while no one should judge them on blanket terms such as right and wrong, it’s important that we live with the consequences of our choices, since they are ours alone.
“But I’ll feel better,” he explained.
Related reading: My mind was my own living hell after cheating on my wife
What to do when you cheat on someone you love?
And that is precisely where we fail to see the folly of our own argument. Coming out with the truth makes only the person who did it feel better, while certainly making the other one feel worse.
It is best avoided, unless you wish to end your current relationship. Benefits of affairs are it often helps you to terminate the current relationship that could be troubling you. In that case, it at least helps the other person move on, while assuring them that it wasn’t their fault but your own.
In my friend’s case, he was clear that he didn’t want to let go of his stable relationship, and he didn’t feel any real love for the girl he met either. It was a lapse of judgement.
What should you do if you end up cheating?
So my final advice to him? I simply said, “End the affair before it gets even more complicated. If there is a positive to take from this, it is the heightened awareness that your relationship needs work, and perhaps your ‘mistake’ will serve as a persistent reminder to do better and work harder towards maintaining it.
“Moreover, while it is unfair to transfer your guilt to another person, it is equally damaging to keep yourself trapped in that guilt as well. Things happen, we’re all human, and it’s important to let go of the past and take it as a learning experience.”
I read an interesting take on infidelity recently. French psychologist Maryse Vaillant in her book, Men, Love, Fidelity, says “Most men don’t do it (infidelity) because they no longer love their partners. They simply need breathing space. For such men, who are in fact profoundly monogamous, infidelity is almost unavoidable.”
She adds that the “pact of fidelity is not natural but cultural”, and it is essential to the “psychic functioning” of certain men who are still very much in love, and can also be “very liberating” for women.
There is a lot of debate on monogamy and open relationships and whether biologically and socially we are more attuned to the latter than to the former.
Related Reading: Confession Of A Married Woman In Love With A Younger Man
An affair is easy, a relationship is hard work
I suppose that sometimes an affair can remedy a relationship that has lost its zing. But do you tell a partner you cheated? Preferably no, as I said earlier but depends on the circumstances and what exactly you want.
However, this approach is easy in theory and far, far more complicated in practice. Human beings after all are highly emotional creatures and even the best theory can be an utter failure in practice. It is never worth the endless guilt trip.
Falling into the arms of another person is easy – and it feels great. Working out the issues in your relationship on the other hand is hard work.
As for my friend, you might be wondering: What if he felt love for the other person, too? Then what does one do in such a situation? Is it possible to love two people at one time? And how do you make the right choice? Well, those are topics for another day, with no one-size-fits-all answer. But I can attest to the fact that his little guilt trip has made him put more efforts into making his relationship work.
As soon trouble starts in paradise we want to jump ship and it’s a very millennial relationship thing that they want to give up on a relationship easily and move on to another person. But if you are looking for a solid connection then moving from one relationship to another is not really an option. Stay clear of an affair. But in case it happens, think twice before you confess to your partner.
Ask Our Expert
You must be Logged in to ask a question.
It is highly stupid advise. Most of the cases it is not revealed because not that your partner get hurt but because
1. Under the name of your partner get hurt, you will not disclose so you need not work out /repent or atone anything on this. When more opportunity comes again, you can cheat again by having onenight stand or affair and enjoy and keep repeating as long as your libido permits. No harm because you enjoy at the back of your partner trust as you have not informed anything to your loyal partner. This only promote “Ghar Ki Chor Ko not even God can catch” and enjoy cheating as long as not discovered,
2. If you inform your loyal partner, you have to take actions and show him/her how you will not cheat him or repeat in future in case your partner forgives. Onus will rest on the cheater to build the trust which may take lot of hard work and time which no cheater wants to do. They will loose chance to enjoy further opportunities hence they wont reveal their cheating.
You are very well aware that you will be kicked out in the ass the moment your partner know about this
3. And even if loyal partner forgives, he/she will never trust you. You will remain a cheater for life long in this birth. Whether you do one time theft or murder you are a thief or murderer. Infact if you visit railway station or police station, they keep photographs of thiefs and murderers even if they did for once also, You are also nothing less than them. once murdered, person leaves the world and no pain. But cheater inflicts betrayal, shame, mistrust etc on loyal partner emotions which he/she has to carry for life long and hence cheating is heneous than murder. But having said that, cheater has no right to keep it under secrecy rather admit and face consequences. Cheater has to pay for his/her animal instinct whether it could be ending of marriage or forgiveness with atonement.
4. As you are in a relationship/marriage, your partner has right to know what you have done. Honesty, loyalty and integrity are basis of the marriage. Once you do dirty thing, its loyal partner prerogative whether to walk out of marriage or forgive you. You can’t deprive him/her of that as afterall you are a cheater without any values, personal integrity, shame and self dignity. Cheater is like a parasite or as good as worms in the stool who will not leave marriage but do all dirty things back of loyal partner.
5. Cheating in a marriaige (Onenight stand or affair) is nothing but prostitution. Money is the motive to have sex for a regular prostitute but for a cheater lust and selfishness is the motive. Both Prostitute and cheater are allowing their body to be used by others. Hence, a cheater is also nothing but a prostitute except for cheater is selective in prostitution with respect to person and numbers or number of times with a person. Infact Cheater is heneous than prostitute as cheater does dirty act by betraying loyal partner. Why should a loyal partner to sleep with a prostitute in the marriage.
Hence it is stupid and foolish advice which can only promotes cheating and benefits only cheater for fulfilling his/her animal instinct/lust. That’s all.
The above article writer is stupid. People hide their affairs mostly because of the fear of consequences and not because they don’t want to hurt their partner.
Cheaters (one night stand or affairs) don’t reveal their cheating to their partners not because their spouse get hurt but because they don’t want their spouse to know that he/she ( cheater) is a characterless, no-self respect, shameless person & cheaters don’t want to loose benefits offered by the marriage and they don’t want to get kicked out in their ass and hence they sticks to the marriage like worms in the stool. Writer is just covering up cheaters that’s all