It was inevitable, I guess. Online dating is a huge, huge industry, providing singles of all backgrounds and preferences the opportunity to connect with each other for the purpose of dating and having a relationship. It shouldn’t surprise anyone, then, that online dating sites for married people are rapidly growing in size and popularity.

Regardless of where you come down on the moral side of this issue, there’s no denying the power of the internet to make it fast and easy for married people to find willing partners outside of their marriage relationship. The most famous of these sites is probably AshleyMadison.com, a website that has become huge since its launch in 2001.

These kinds of sites cater to the “special needs” of married people, offering services such as anonymous messaging, identity protection, discreet credit card billing, and the like. They also talk very frankly about the risks associated with using their website to connect with a potential lover, not the least of which is the damage such activity can do to an existing relationship and the unintended consequences it can create. Most include suggestions about seeking relationship counseling before considering using their services, but I think that’s mostly to cover themselves from a liability standpoint.

Right or wrong, websites like AshleyMadison.com do exist and continue to thrive. While individuals have to make the personal choice about whether or not to use them, the online dating industry as a whole needs to be very cautious about “accepting” these sites as legitimate because they have the potential to damage the reputation of online dating overall.

Affairs and Cheating Affairs, Ashley Madison, Cheating, Married

Some people start online dating for one reason – to cheat on their spouses. While this isn’t exactly an honorable reason to date online, it’s the truth. And it’s becoming more rampant than ever.

There are two sides to this debate – one that supports infidelity online and one that says to avoid cheaters altogether.

To make things easier for you, here are the advantages to cheating online:

• You can be discreet
• You can meet other married people
• You can create online relationships
• You can have multiple relationships
• There are sites devoted entirely to married people who want to date

Here are the disadvantages to cheating online:

• There’s a permanent electronic record of your infidelity
• You might run into your spouse
• You can get ‘outed’ as a married person
• You can get caught much more easily
• You have to pay money

Is there an answer to whether or not you should cheat on your spouse? Only you can decide, but when it comes to creating a new relationship, it always seems to be better to get rid of the old before you bring in the new – online or not.

Maybe if you’re tempted to cheat online, you might want to talk to your spouse about what you feel. This can help you both figure out what you need to do to fix your relationship or to break it off.

They say cheaters are never winners, after all.

Affairs and Cheating Affairs, Cheating, Fling, Infidelity, Married

In this world of divorces and various dating and life circumstances, there may come a point when you are going to have children and be dating. Contrary to what you may have heard, the two can mix.

What you need to realize with your children is that there are two rules to always abide by:

1. Always be honest.

2. Only tell them what they need to know.

Yes, when you’re starting to date again after divorcing their other parent, you want to make sure they know that while you’re seeing other people, this doesn’t diminish the role of their ‘actual’ parent.

Let them know that you want to enjoy spending time with another person. It’s not that you don’t love their other parent, but that you want to see others.

From there, going into detail about why you aren’t with the other parent is unnecessary. If the child asks, diplomacy is going to be the best advice, especially when your child is young. What you can also do is let your actions speak louder than words.

Be nice to their other parent no matter what.

Be nice to the new dates you have, and introduce them to your children.

Listen to your child’s opinion of your dates.

This doesn’t have to be a sticky situation. What you need to do is to not make a big deal out of this dating situation and simply show your children how happy you are because of getting out of the house.

And how happy you are with them as a result. Smooth sailing.

Breaking Up, Divorce, Family Children, Divorce, Kids, Married, Parents