# Can a Marriage Survive Infidelity?



## Administrator

Marriage is difficult, there’s no way around it. The idea of spending your entire life with someone sounds romantic at first but then reality hits and you find out just how much work it can be to keep a marriage strong and healthy. 

According to nationwide surveys, infidelity is on the rise in both men and women, but can a marriage survive such a significant blow? Keep reading to learn whether it’s possible to work past infidelity and, if so, how to do it.

*Understanding the Reasons People Cheat*

Many people assume that infidelity is evidence of a bad marriage. While infidelity happens more often in unhappy marriages, the marriage itself is not always the underlying cause. In fact, affairs are more likely to happen in marriages that are sexually or emotionally distant when one or both partners feel unfulfilled. You must remember, however, that infidelity happens in happy marriages as well. Each situation is different and there are likely to be many causative factors. 

*What to Know Before You Start*

If you or your partner has been unfaithful, it’s important to own up to your mistake and to be forthcoming with your partner. Honesty is the best policy if you hope to work past the issue, otherwise you might just ask for a divorce. Before you and your partner decide how to handle the situation, there are a few things you should know:



It’s not easy to work past infidelity and it can take a long time.
Both partners will experience a wide range of emotions – anger, fear, depression, etc.
Learning to trust one another again will be one of the hardest challenges.
It is essential that the unfaithful partner take responsibility for their own actions. 
It must be a problem both of you agree to work on together without placing blame.
You will likely need professional help to process the event and move forward.

Working through infidelity in a marriage is not easy, but many professional counsellors have seen marriages come out stronger on the other side. It all depends how much you and your partner are willing to work on it and whether you’re still committed to each other and to the marriage. 

*Tips for Surviving Infidelity in Marriage *

There is no blueprint for working through infidelity in a marriage but having professional help can give you a place to start. You’ll also need to have an open and honest conversation with your partner about whether you are both equally committed to making it work. You should be prepared to experience some difficult emotions and you’ll need to try to remember why you got married in the first place – hold on to your love and respect for one another even when things get tough. You should also be prepared for the possibility that your marriage just might not survive. If the infidelity is more than just a one-time thing or if one partner is not willing to work through it, you may both need to walk away. 

Every marriage is just as different as the two people in it. While it is entirely possible for a marriage to survive infidelity, it is up to the two people involved to put in the effort to make it happen. The sad truth is that some couples will simply choose to give up and walk away rather than working through it. 

VS Glen, Community Support


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