When Is Cheating Not Cheating?

Cheating is a very sensitive topic. Nobody wants to be labelled as a cheater and yet so many people do it anyway.

So what is the definition of cheating? From childhood, we know that cheating in a test is taking a peek at your notes or having tiny pieces of paper with the answers while the test is ongoing. But when it comes to a monogamous relationship, where is the line drawn?

I think we can all agree that when you are in a relationship and you sleep with someone else, that is outright cheating.

But how about a kiss? Kissing is something that should be done between two people in a relationship. Ok, not to sound like a prude but if you have a significant other, do you want them French kissing someone else? A kiss is a kiss whether it’s torrid and wet or just as simple and as sweet as a peck. Of course it’s a totally different story when one is single.

How about going out with someone who is not your partner when you are clearly in a relationship? How can you define if it’s still friendship or if there is something already there?

Let’s say you go out with a group of friends or your colleagues but there’s someone who is always there who finds a way to sit right beside you ALL THE TIME. It may sound and look innocent but really, if you start having thoughts like, “Does this person like me?” what do you call it now? People will argue, “So what if this person likes you, what are you gonna do about it?”

It’s all about how you can resist the temptation. So if you shut down the person and be honest with him that you are in a relationship, that’s good, right? But what if you keep leading on the person? What if you know they like you and you enjoy their company, but you don’t do anything like hold hands or kiss or whatever, is that cheating? What if you know that something is bubbling underneath and you’re starting to like this person, is that cheating?

How about attraction and lusty dirty thoughts? What if you meet some random person and they’re sizzling hot and you’re starting to think that you wanna rip each other’s clothes off and everything? Even if you don’t actually do it and those thoughts remain as thoughts, is that cheating?

How about something as mundane as falling head over heels for someone like, let’s say Thor? For goodness sake, he is a fictional god and Chris Hemsworth is a Hollywood Actor. Is that cheating as well?

So where do we draw the line as to what cheating really is? Is it with a kiss? Is it spending time and hanging out with someone else constantly? How about not doing anything drastic just talking, texting, hanging out and then once you feel like it, you break it off with your partner of ten long years? Technically, it isn’t cheating. Some people will applaud you for breaking it off before sleeping with someone else. But really, someone was already emotionally invested in you and dreaming of your forever when you were actually emotionally invested in someone new.

So tell me, when is cheating not cheating?