Cheating Without Cheating: Relationship Betrayals That Have Nothing To Do With Cheating

We all know that the sting of sexual betrayal is one of the most difficult experiences a couple can go through. However, it is only one of the many ways people sabotage their relationships. Here are six of the insidious ways you could be betraying your relationship—that have nothing to do with cheating.

1. Neglecting your relationship.

Relationships are living, dynamic things. They need to be nurtured day in and day out.

I know so many couples who have bought into the idea that once they found a great partner and committed, no more effort would be required, and the relationship would naturally take care of itself. So instead of prioritizing quality time and communication with their partner (like they did when they were dating), the relationship gets pushed to the back burner.

Your relationship will not thrive if you only invest in it when it suits you. This kind of neglect is a one-way ticket to splitsville. Your partner requires (and is worthy of) more than scraps of leftover time and attention.

2. Letting yourself go—mentally and/or physically.

Some couples achieve a certain level of comfort in a relationship, and then gradually stop taking care of their physical and emotional wellbeing. This can mean your physical health falls by the wayside, or your their personal growth work is deprioritized. This can lead to poorer communication, or complacence, and selfishly ignoring your partner’s feelings.

When we put less emphasis on being the best version of ourselves, we bring less joy and fulfillment to our relationship. In fact, we start to cultivate opposing feelings: boredom and dissatisfaction.

True closeness with a partner requires true closeness with and value for yourself. Your own healing and self-care strengthens your relationship.

3. Viewing your relationship status as more important than your relationship quality.

We receive so many cultural messages that teach us to think that we’re not good enough, important enough, or desirable enough if we’re single. In response to this, many people go on a fanatical quest to find a partner, get the engagement ring, and run down the aisle.

This way of approaching relationships puts the label “relationship” on a pedestal, and distracts us from the thing that actually matters most: having the human experience we desire most. Dr. Robert Firestone refers to this as the “fantasy bond.” In his book, Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice, Dr. Firestone says the fantasy bond is the single most important factor leading to the deterioration of love and attraction in a relationship.

When you make the relationship label a higher priority than the actual relationship, intimacy, affection, and the strength of your bond will start to weaken, and in time, disappear altogether.

You have to develop a solid friendship with your partner and routinely check in. Ask yourselves, “Is this still the best relationship we’ve ever had? If not, what can we do to make it so?”

4. Using your partner.

If you aren’t truly owning your development and growth as an individual, you can easily fall into patterns of codependence and begin to (unconsciously) expect your partner to be responsible for your happiness. This is incredibly draining for your significant other.

I’ve seen many people resist personal growth work, and then place the burden on their partner to make up for the emotional groundwork they’re not willing to cover for themselves. This creates an extreme inequality in the relationship—one person is mostly in “give” mode, and one person is mostly in “take” mode.

When we take responsibility for our emotions and internal healing, we take the weight of unfair expectation away from our partner, and allow them to support us as an equal, instead of having to carry us.