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The dangers of cheating

Cheating on your partner does not only destroy your relationship but it can also cause irreversible damage to the entire family.

The Justice Department’s 2012-13 annual report showed that the divorce rate had increased by 28% from 39 573 to 50 517 cases.

Adultery was named as one the biggest factors contributing to most separations.

Excuses given by those who cheat include boredom, lack of emotional support to just plain old curiosity.

However for every action there’s a reaction. For the regular man on the street the fallout from a cheating scandal can sometimes be easily contained however the same cannot be said for high profile personalities.

Here are some examples:

1. US golfer Tiger Woods’ infidelity almost destroyed his career and ended in one of the world’s most expensive divorce settlements. His private life was put on full display for the world to see.

2. Actress Kristen Stewart earned a bad reputation in the industry by cheating on Robert Pattinson with Rupert Saunders. The cheating scandal may have even cost her some future roles.

Locally ‘side chicks’ or mistresses have used the media and social networks as outlets for their anger after affairs with their married partners ended.

Most recently DJ Black Coffee had to deal with two women who claimed to have been involved in adulterous relationships with him.

In another high profile case, this week a prominent married businessman’s private parts were published on Twitter by a jilted lover.

The women published posted a picture of what she claimed was the businessman’s penis on Twitter and even tagged his son on the post.

So is it all worth it?

If you are considering straying from your relationship consider these disadvantages first:

Reputation: Those who respect you and hold you to a high standard will be shattered. What you have spent years building could be destroyed in a day.

Children: Your children are the innocent victims in all this. Do they deserve the humiliation and shame a cheating scandal could put them through?

Money: Depending on whether you have a pre-nuptial agreement or not, your spouse could clean you out and leave you penniless.

STDs and HIV: This needs no explanation.

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