There are a ton of posts and articles in this forum about cheating and cheaters…..why do people cheat? Statistics about it…..signs to look out for……it's all over the place.
I'm going to throw this out as a counterpoint:
A couple of years ago I was in New York on a business trip and had a pretty fun, but long night the night before. This night, I decided to just go to a local place to have a nice dinner, some dessert and then go back to my hotel room and read my book. It didn't end up happening that way…..across the room was a stunning lady having dinner alone and I noticed she was glancing my way.
I finished my dinner and went over and asked is she'd like to join me for dessert. She accepted. We talked for an hour or so….finished our dessert and went for a cocktail. She was very intelligent….great sense of humor…..and did I mention she was gorgeous?
Needless to say it was progressing fantastically and she invited me to her room. So yes - you guessed it….this was going to be one of those "Dear Penthouse, I never thought this would happen to me" moments. We kissed in the elevator going up to the room and it was exquisite - those were lips I wanted attached to me all night long….as the doors to the elevators opened and we walked down the hall, she decided it was time to tell me she was married. Insert sound of needle scratching a record.
I politely declined her offer and went back to my room to find my book….a cold shower wasn't necessary at that point.
I had just turned down what I knew was going to be a night to remember….but I knew that if I were that husband how hurt I would be. I put myself "in his shoes". I don't tell this story to point out what a good guy I am (I've got plenty of foibles)….I'm putting it out to provide the "other side of the coin" to all these cheating stories and statistics. Cheating doesn't happen all the time…..there are plenty of people that won't take advantage of the situation even if they know they'll never get caught.
If you've been hurt….you've split up….you've divorced because of it…..you need to know that not everyone is like that…..there are plenty of people who think and act like this….we just don't hear about it as much as the folks that do cheat.
I know there are tons of people that have been faced with the "forbidden fruit" scenario and turned it down….let's hear about it. Might give someone a lift or some hope if they hear these stories.