Why flirting can be considered cheating

A seemingly innocent flirt with a barmaid, colleague, or any member of the opposite sex could easily damage your relationship for good.

Talk laden with sexual connotation, even if you do not mean it should be kept at arm’s length.

All of us are as guilty as charged; from a simple complement to actual bodily contact, it can have far-reaching ramifications, especially for someone considered serious by the members of the society they are living in.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, flirting is defined as "to behave amorously without serious intent."

A man looks at a woman and gives her some compliments that are possibly not true—compliments that her partner cannot afford.

Women love compliments (we used to call them “sweet nothings); she might swallow them hook, line, and sinker, and she is more likely to feel the need to reciprocate.

While this may not be considered cheating, it is indeed subtle cheating, and your partner may not actually like it.

She may veil it with a smile, but she could be seething and bleeding from the inside.

The truth is that if you're flirting, you could already be emotionally cheating on your significant other.

Unless they know that it is your nature (some people are born "flirters") or until you’ve had a discussion with them about it, it may be a grey area not worth taking a chance on.

Consider this: if it has a sexual agenda in it or if there are explicit sexual overtones, no matter how slight, you may want to take a step back and reassess your stance lest you lose trust in someone you love.

Don’t give false hopes

As I said earlier, the other person might take it seriously and build false hopes that you need her or him.

Some people are like a mango that is ripe and ready to drop. I have experimented with many women, some of whom know or are friends with my wife.

Sometimes, I get this feeling that they would like to “sample” what strictly belongs to my wife. The only thing is that I do not let it get far.

Office flirts

These, in my opinion, are the most dangerous. They could mean an end to your career or make you the subject of office gossip.

Secondly, if things go sour, remember that you are stuck with that person the whole of your working time, and it is not a good feeling at all.

With people being together eight hours a day, five days a week, it can be fertile ground for flirting and all the temptations that come with it.

Whether it’s the extra smiles directed at the other person, the special treatment, the touchiness, or different behaviours, they can constitute workplace flirting.