Is it realistic for you to forgive the unfaithful spouse and stay together? An affair does not necessarily mean the end of a relationship, but when should you cut your losses and move on if at all? You will need to answer a number of questions in order to determine if your cheating partner deserves your forgiveness of their infidelity.

Is this the first time your spouse has cheated on you? One big indicator is how the cheater behaves after being discovered. You must look at their behavior and determine if it is genuine enough for you to consider forgiveness. The cheater must understand, hopefully without your prompting, not only what they did was wrong, but also that their entire attitude relating to infidelity is wrong. If this was not an isolated incident, the chances that the cheating spouse will never cheat again are small.

Does your spouse blame you for the affair? If your spouse does not accept responsibility for their incorrect behavior, but instead, makes excuses for it, it's clear that they have a problem with dealing with issues inside the marriage. No one can change a behavior without accepting responsibility for it then what can you expect when tough times in the marriage arrive again?

Is your partner sorry for the choosing to have an affair or are they only sorry that they got caught? We see this in the media all the time. Once a person is caught, then they proclaim their regret and how they know better and they are sorry. It is interesting that their sudden clarity is closely tied to being caught. Cheating is a selfish act. The cheating partner needs to fully acknowledge that. Feeling sorry they cheated means that they regret what they did and understand how wrong it was. Feeling bad that they got caught is an entirely different thing.

If you decide to forgive the infidelity and agree to stay with your partner, and your partner cheats on you again, what will you do? Think seriously about your capacity to tolerate another re-run of infidelity. If your partner is a serial cheater, then you can expect a steady flow of infidelity. Your feelings will be in an emotional blender, turned on and off by your spouse.

Can you be expected to forgive infidelity? The answer is inside your mind and heart as only you can evaluate the reasons why your spouse cheated. In order to truly live, you need to be free of the negative emotions of lack of trust or worry what might happen.
Trust your heart but be open to watch the behavior of the cheater, it will guide your decisions.