How do I get over this recent feeling that infidelity is inevitable?
It seems like every third post on r/relationships or on askreddit is about cheating in relationships. For me, out in the real world, cheating has never really been a problem - for me or anyone I've been friends with/family. After reading a thread here that mentioned a significant percentage of marriages/relationships are effected by infidelity, I can't help but feel I've been naive this entire time and infidelity is pretty much inevitable as you continue to date due to a numbers game (eventually you will run into a gf/bf/wife/husband who will cheat on you). The thing that struck me was how most people never expected it - that leads me to believe that there's very little a person can do to not be cheated on by their partner if their partner decides to cheat. It makes me feel bad that I now think that no matter love or commitment I might have for a SO, they might not feel the same way and infidelity is possible.
Many people say that it may be a self-selection bias - people with happy marriages aren't speaking up because they don't have to complain about infidelity. Any advice on how to treat a relationship/partner in order to avoid infidelity on both sides (sounds kind of difficult since mentioning infidelity may lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy)?
Posted Jun 24, 2012, 1:54 AM UTC