There is a reason why the saying ‘once a cheat, always a cheat’ exists, and it’s because some of us are simply hard-wired differently.
There are three primary reasons for why people cheat: Individual, Relationship and Situational. ‘Once a cheat, always a cheat’, refers to individual reasons for cheating: qualities about the person that make him or her more prone to being unfaithful.
Those who cheat because they’re unsatisfied in their relationship, or are faced with a particularly rare situation which led to them cheating, may not cheat again, but those who cheat because of individual personality traits, probably will.
In fact, people who have cheated before are 350% more likely to cheat again.*
We’re all for having fun, not putting all your eggs in one basket, and discovering what you like – but not when it hurts another person. If you want to mess around, that’s cool, just be single while doing it.
Unless you’ve spoken about being in an open relationship, the majority of people will not be okay with their significant other sleeping with other people.
If you’ve gotten yourself in deep with Casanova, not only should you probably pop along to your nearest Sexual Health Clinic, but you should also get yourself the hell out. But how do you even know you’re dating a cheater?
10 Signs They’re Cheating On You
#1 They’re not known for being faithful
Maybe it’s happened before, and they promised it wouldn’t happen again. Maybe you just know they’ve done it in previous relationships. Maybe they cheated on someone to be with you. Regardless of how you know, the fact that they’ve cheated before isn’t great. Try and evaluate their motives for cheating, and if it’s been more than once: alarm bells should be ringing.
[Read: How to handle being cheated on]#2 They become easily irritated and defensive when you ask them where they’ve been
Uh-oh. They’ve just snapped your hand off for asking what they did yesterday. Perhaps they’re just grumpy or hangry, but perhaps they’re getting irritated at your ‘probing’. If they get defensive and say “what’s it to you anyway?”, “why do you always have to know everything?”, or just ignore you, maybe you should be questioning where they’ve been.
#3 They are protective of their passwords and phone
As much as we all know snooping isn’t right, if your significant other is getting weirdly protective of their phone or passwords, it could be a red flag that they’re actively trying to keep something from you.
[Read: Is Snooping on your Partner Ever Okay?]#4 They fear commitment
You’ve been with them a while, and you’re still not sure where you stand. Then anytime your ‘relationship’ is mentioned, they insist it’s all about just being ‘chill’ and going with the flow. Maybe they’re just scared of commitment in a – normal – way, but maybe they don’t have any intention on taking things any further.
[Read: Why Men Won’t Commit] [Read: 6 Signs She Wants to Commit Long Term]#5 They don’t tell you much about their past or life outside the vague basic facts
When your friends ask you about them, and you find yourself struggling to recall… anything. Because weirdly you don’t actually know much about them, or their past, or their freetime…
#6 They suddenly become very busy at work
The age-old ‘working late at work’, or having to go away for a work weekend, or work conferences… sometimes they genuinely are going to work. Fair enough if they’re up for a promotion, or have a big project, but sometimes it’s just a cover.
#7 They become more concerned with how they look, and make more of an effort than usual
All of a sudden they are obsessed with the gym, with new clothes, with making themselves look smokin’ …much more than usual. It could all be because they’ve just seriously upped their game, or they’re doing it to impress someone who isn’t you.
#8 They go off the radar for periods of time and just say, “I was busy”
…and on the outside you’re totally cool, like ‘yeah, that’s cool, I’m so chill’, but inside you’re screaming, “WHAT, AND YOU WERE BUSY FOR 72 HOURS SOLID?! Were you stuck under a humongous rock!?”.
Like, seriously, no-one is busy for that long.
#9 They have an unusually large amount of friends of the opposite sex
And they see them often. At night. Just them. Alone.
#10 You have a gut feeling something isn’t quite right
Sometimes, you just know. Ya know.
So now you’re armed with knowledge of what to look for, I hope you feel a tad more prepped. Touch wood you’ll never be cheated on, but if you are worrying that you are: don’t bury your head in the sand. Never settle for anything less than what you deserve, because you deserve the world.
