Jamie Roberts asked: One of the biggest mistakes a spouse can make is to ignore the early signs of infidelity. When their partner is on the verge of making a decision to cheat, there are very subtle signs that should not be ignored. If there was ever a time to be suspicious and to trust your gut feeling, it’s when the affair is just about to take off.
Full-blown affairs don’t just happen. They start off slow as the cheating couple needs to take time to carefully weigh their options and determine if it’s what they want. At this point, there is a lot of guilt and apprehension. Additionally, the couple needs time to get to know each other before any hint of intimacy can happen. It’s at this point that you need to be very aware of the signs your spouse could be preparing to cheat on you.
That being said, you cannot come off as being jealous, possessive, or paranoid. Keep in mind that your spouse is likely flip-flopping back and forth between remaining faithful or not. They are likely confused and indecisive at this point, and any negative actions on your part may be just enough to push them into the arms of someone else. Showing your jealous and possessive side is absolutely the worst thing you can do at this point.
One more thing about jealousy: If you are the jealous type, you really need to look at the situation objectively. If you have a tendency to misread otherwise innocent behavior, you’ve got to step back and look at things for what they are, and not what you think they are. Make sure your suspicions are based on facts.
So what are the early indications that your spouse is about to cheat?
He/she becomes very moody for no reason. Obviously, they have a lot on their mind and they’re being racked with guilt at the prospect of cheating on you. If they haven’t made the decision to cheat yet, this can weigh heavily on their mind.
They might become abusive towards you. Starting arguments, blaming you for things, or being disrespectful, is their way of releasing some of the guilt that they are burdened with. In fact, they may be secretly hoping that you will retaliate, and this will make their decision so much easier. Some spouses may even resent the fact that you are in the way of their future happiness (as strange as that sounds).
They become very detached from normal family life. If they’re much more quiet than usual, or always lost in thought, then they obviously have a lot on their mind. Of course, it could also be a number of other things, such as job stress or financial worries.
They just seem happy for no reason at all. While this is not a crime in itself, this happiness has got to be originating from somewhere. Generally, if someone has something to be cheerful about, they’ll share it with those closest to them. If your spouse seems as though they’re on cloud nine for no reason at all, you might want to keep an eye on the situation.
Your better half suddenly starts treating you with a niceness that is a little over the top. There are a few reasons for this: One, they are probably over-compensating for the incredible guilt they feel. Two, they are testing you and the relationship to remind them of how good (or bad) they have it. They will usually make a decision shortly thereafter, based on this.
If your gut feeling is telling you that something has changed, then you are probably right. Although it may not mean that your partner is cheating, you do owe it to yourself to try to uncover what’s going on. Try talking to your spouse to see if there is anything that they want to share with you, such as problems at work or financial worries. If they insist that everything is great, then you must assume that whatever is on their mind is something that they don’t want you to find out.
Next actions
Your next actions should be to try and uncover evidence to either prove or disprove your suspicions. With any luck, you will be able to get some proof before the affair has a chance to gather any momentum.
If you really want that evidence quickly, one of the best ways is to search through your spouse’s cell phone and take note of any numbers that always seem to be in the recent calls or text messaging records. Before the affair actually happens, the illicit couple will be spending a lot of time communicating back and forth. Most of that communication will happen via cell phone.
Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress