I
s it your barista?
Your PT? The
hot guy you try
to catch the eye
of around the
water cooler?
What I’m asking
is, could you be
inadvertently cheating on your
partner? It’s a loaded question
but, you see, there’s this thing
called micro-cheating and it’s
not something so ridiculous or
sinister that you’d assume you
haven’t done it. It’s not danger
and blaring sirens – and it’s
usually a subconscious action.
Still, it’s not all sunshine and
commitment, either, and could
signal something that needs
attention in your relationship.
In a relationship nutshell- a ‘rutshell’ – micro-cheating
is the term that describes all
the small things (Blink-182
not included) we do that could
have whispers of infidelity,
without actually, physically
being unfaithful. Just like Dr
Karl warns against micro-
sleeping, micro-cheating can
take you into territories you
might regret. Think of it as
the little sister to emotional
cheating, sans that deep emo-
connection that would other-
wise derail a relationship (side
note: it’s said that emotional
cheating can hurt much more
than its physical counterpart).
But given micro-cheating can
build the blocks to something
more, it evidently doesn’t take
physically smacking your lips
on a juicy new conquest to spell
trouble. The first step to note?
A little overzealous flirtation.
‘[It’s] the little things you
do to show someone you fancy
HARMLESS
FUN?them; it doesn’t ever become
physical and it’s also not really
emotional,’ explains Desiree
Spierings, director at Sexual
Health Australia. ‘With
emotional cheating, you
definitely share a lot of
personal information with
this person in the way of
thoughts, feelings and
desires, and on top of that
you have real emotional
feelings for this person that
goes further than attraction.’WARNING SIGNS
Signs you’re paddling in the
shallows of danger, according
to Spierings, include dressing
differently when you know
you’re going to be seeing a
certain person, withholding
information from your partner
about who you’re hanging with
during after-work drinks, or
lying by omission. It could
even be the fact you’re always
liking and commenting on one
guy’s Instagram pics. And the
guy isn’t Zac Efron. It’s a real
guy. ‘Also when you don’t
disclose you’re in a relationship
or minimise the status of your
relationship on purpose,’ she
continues. ‘It’s the same as
seeking contact with someone
unnecessarily for advice on
small topics or going out of
your way to speak to someone
else, following them on social
media to the point where you
know quite a few details about
their life, and developing an
interest in someone else to theIF THIS IS HOW ROB
FROM FINANCE SHARES
HIS SNACKS, YOU MIGHT
BE CROSSING A LINE.142 COSMOPOLITAN SEPTEMBER 2017