Fed up with your relationship, but can’t bring yourself to cheat? Here are some annoying behaviors that might just provide the justification.
In the circle of life, things change. Autumn turns to winter, day turns to night, stars are born and then die again, and the former love of your life – once your amorous delight, your romantic be all and end all – has turned into an albatross around your neck.
To make it worse, your friends are all out and about having the time of their lives, and telling you about each new romantic conquest at every opportunity, whilst you’re stuck indoors with the black hole that is your supposedly significant other.
To cheat or not to cheat
It’s a tough question to be sure. Irrespective of whether your partner has turned into a troublesome, annoying lump of disinterest or not, can their behavior justify your cheating on them? For some, the answer to this question would be an emphatic “no.” For others a resounding “yes!” is in order.
The only person who can answer this question is you, the reader, and it depends very much upon your personal outlook. However, if you’re the kind of person who might just consider that the odd fling is justified, if you aren’t being treated as well as you could be by your partner, then the following ten behaviors are just some of those which may lead you to commit to that particular course of action. [Read: To cheat or not to cheat? – Make up your mind with this]
Irritating behaviors that might drive you to cheat
Though cheating in itself is an abhorrent thing to do, you can’t deny the fact that it can be very tempting, especially if your partner displays the following behavior.
#1 Flirting. This can often be a harmless enough habit, but done to excess or too earnestly, can be highly annoying. We all know these types – the octopus or the black widow spider – all over friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances or anyone within groping range at the merest drop of a hat.
They seem to feel such behavior is acceptable, and will plead innocence at every turn. But to pretty much the rest of the universe, these thinly disguised attempts at molestation are far from it. Highly annoying to all involved, if you’re going to use a behavior trait to justify cheating, it might as well be this one. [Read: 10 subtle signs your partner is being too flirty with another person]
#2 Being dismissive. Everybody wants to be listened to. It’s not at all a selfish thing, it’s just an indicator that your voice and opinion are respected, and who doesn’t want that? However, what you don’t want is to be continuously cut off mid-conversation, talked over, ignored or even sneered and laughed at – especially by your other half.
If you’ve ended up with the kind of oaf or prima-donna who feels that their opinion alone is deserving of being listened to, then you may well feel that such behavior justifies a little bit of cheating on the side. Maybe if they had listened, they’d have realized what was going on in your mind! [Read: 7 signs you’re not being heard in your relationship]
#3 Poor hygiene. Euuughhhh… Not nice. You seem to have acquired a partner who believes you are so blindly devoted to them, that they can stop taking care of themselves without risking any upset to the relationship. You might have had strong feelings for them once, but these are swiftly dissolving in a stagnant mire of filth and stench.
Poor hygiene isn’t just an indication of laziness or poor self-esteem, it is also a sign they have lost respect for others around them, including you. No sane individual would blame you in these circumstances for running off with the well groomed and good looking kind of individual who you would be proud to be seen out and about with.
#4 Temper tantrums. First of all, let’s distinguish between aggression and a temper tantrum. The former is a type of violence that should never be tolerated, and should immediately lead to separation. Temper tantrums are silly and juvenile forms of expressing dissatisfaction with not getting your own way, a barely acceptable way of behaving even for a toddler, never mind a fully grown adult.
If this particular type of annoying behavior is one that your partner displays, then nobody could blame you for seeking more mature company elsewhere. Justifiable cheating? Quite possibly. [Read: 9 relationship rules all couples must follow]
#5 Jealousy. This is a particularly nasty behavior trait, as it displays a need to control the other person in the relationship. The guilty party doesn’t feel in control when other people are seen to bear any kind of influence upon you – whether they actually do or not – and responds in this most negative of ways.
This person probably moans about your friends and family, rings you up twenty to thirty times a day, and constantly accuses you of all kinds of misbehavior, thus making your life miserable. If you choose to treat this behavior with the contempt it deserves, and actually give them something to moan about for a change, then nobody could really blame you.
#6 An absent sex life. A physical relationship is a good relationship. It creates a feeling of closeness, negates tensions and stresses, strengthens the already existing bond of a couple, and generally indicates a healthy and positive rapport.
It can be quite common for this side of the relationship to deteriorate over time, for a number of reasons, so that some work is needed to get it back up to scratch. If, however, you’ve put the time in, but no response is forthcoming, then it is probably quite justifiable that you look for it elsewhere, and that makes an absent sex life one of the most common reasons for cheating in general.
#7 Smothering. Not quite the same as jealousy, smothering is when your other half has sacrificed everything in their own personal sphere to be with you, and expects you to follow suit. Consequently, they follow you closer than your own shadow, stalking you around the house, insisting on coming with you every time you nip out to do a bit of gardening or buy a newspaper.
It isn’t a control thing, more of an insecurity problem, but it still has the same effect of strangling the life out of you. No wonder you’re thinking of putting a bit of fizz back into your world by finding excitement with someone else. [Read: How to love someone without smothering them]
#8 Laziness. One of the most annoying behaviors, a partner who can’t be bothered to go out with you, can’t be bothered to help around the house, can’t be bothered to go on holiday, can’t be bothered to get out of the chair, can’t be bothered to work even… well, why should you be bothered to make the effort to stay faithful? [Read: What to do if your partner is getting lazy and boring]
#9 Single-minded. Not the focused kind of single-minded but the kind in which your partner actually still thinks they’re single. Always out with friends at local pubs, sports games, shopping expeditions etc., you wouldn’t mind so much if you were occasionally invited to join in with your partner’s personal life.
Unfortunately though, you have become part of the furniture, the fixtures and fittings, and they probably wouldn’t even notice if you cheated on them – so, why not give them what they are happy with, and take advantage of the fact?
#10 Nil motivation. That dynamic go-getter you once knew has, well, kind of given up. They have no drive, and they seem to drag you into their personal pit of despair. There are no plans made to do anything grand, no attempts to better their lot or improve an existing situation, no suggestions or discussions about a better future at all.
The only future that seems to be suggesting itself is one where you end up married to a gigantic and characterless lump of play-dough. Would anyone hold it against you if you looked elsewhere? Probably not.
[Confession: I cheated on my boyfriend and I feel so much better!]
If you’re looking to cheat on your significant other, then chances are things aren’t going great anyway, but at least one of the annoying behaviors from the list above will provide you with the justification you need.
