The 9 forms of infidelity

I recently talked to an old friend whose marriage is in crisis. His wife has been having an ongoing affair with her personal trainer at the gym. The aftermath of the affair is ripping their family apart. What she naively assumed would just be a “harmless fling” is now having immeasurably devastating consequences for her marriage and their children. 

Infidelity destroys marriages. I see it everyday. Typically, when we’re talking about “infidelity“, we’re referring only to a sexual affair. While sexual affairs might be the most destructive form of infidelity, there are many other ways people can be unfaithful in marriage. Smaller acts of “infidelity” often lead to a sexual affair. We need to safeguard our marriages from infidelity in ALL its forms.

The literal definition of infidelity is simply broken trust or broken loyalty. If you want to protect your marriage from all forms of infidelity, please avoid the following behaviors. Preventing all nine of these acts of broken loyalty and trust are a vital ways to safeguard your marriage. If your marriage is currently struggling, please check out our new program designed specifically for couples in crisis at FightingForMyMarriage.com.

The nine most common forms of infidelity are (in no particular order):

1.Giving your primary loyalty to someone or something other than your spouse.

If you are giving your primary loyalty to your parents ahead of your spouse, you’re actually committing an act of infidelity. If you’re more concerned with your friends than with your spouse, you’re essentially cheating. If you’re consistently giving your strongest loyalty to your career ahead of your spouse, you’re being unfaithful. If we could grasp this responsibility to give our first and best loyalty to our marriage, our marriages would instantly and dramatically improve.