7 Ways Cheating Can Wreck Your Family

Cheating in marriages seems to be so prevalent these days that the question isn’t who is cheating but rather – who isn’t? Most married people have either been victims of infidelity or have cheated themselves. Many people, however, do not realize how destructive cheating can be to a marriage and relationships with family and friends. Here are a few ways infidelity can ruin and wreck your family…

1. Distrust

Trust is the foundation that marriage rests upon, but when it is broken, it often remains that way. A spouse can forgive, but that painful experience will lurk in the offended spouse’s mind.

2. Your children, friends & family

Cheating doesn’t only affect your marriage. It negatively rubs off on your relationships with your children, loving friends and other close family members. Your nuclear and extended families may also suffer the pain and embarrassment/shame of community gossip.

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3. You lose your moral authority

It’s hard to tell your children (or others) to do the right thing when they know you didn’t. Saying “do as I say” not “as I do” is the fastest way to lose the respect of others.

4. Guilt

Guilt is like a cancerous sore. It grows and gets worse as time passes. Soon it begins to occupy the mind, invading thoughts when it is not wanted. It causes worry, regret, and shame. Such thoughts certainly do not add to your happiness or the health of any relationship.

5. Revenge & violence

There is always a slight chance that the innocent spouse may inflict bodily harm on the cheater and/or his mistress/other guy in sheer rage.

The person the cheater cheated with may also try various manipulations to further infuriate the aggrieved spouse in order to break up the marriage.

6. STDs

Sexually transmitted diseases run rampant among promiscuous people, and studies have shown some may lead to other severe complications. Your chances of getting one is less if you stick to one partner.

7. Dysfunctional family

When one spouse cheats in a relationship, even if the other spouse stays, the family would never remain the same. The other spouse and even the children change their behaviour around the cheater or worse still, rebel and embrace the wrong values.