Arnold Schwarzenegger cheated, and reportedly that resulted in a love child.
We know that some men will cheat, regardless of how good you look, or how well you cook, some men will have a taste for something new — and will pursue it.
Infidelity is one level of betrayal, a slight, though painful, can for the most part, be overcome if the two parties want to salvage the relationship.
But does this rule of thumb apply when there’s a love child involved?
“Question whether or not the relationship is worth keeping,” says relationship columnist Gina B. “It’s one thing to know that your man is cheating, it’s quite a difference to have a walking, breathing, reminder of it alive on this earth that he’s going to have to tend to for the next 18 years.”
And, of course, where there’s a baby, there’s a baby’s momma.
“The person that he cheated with is going to have to be in his life, and you have to figure out if that’s something that you can deal with. I couldn’t,” Gina B. states. “You have to be open to her, when the kid’s a little baby — that is if the man wants to be a part of the child’s life — the baby’s mother has to come into play, somehow. Most women are not going to drop their infant off with someone and not know who the child is spending time with.”
Relationship expert Tiffany D. Sanders, Ph.D., of Sanders & Associates says the relationship can be salvaged, but there must be consequences for the infidelity.
“Seek counseling from a licensed therapist so that they can help you to process those emotions, and remove the cloudiness that may be in your head at that moment, in order to sort out the best approach,” Dr. Sanders advises. “Recognize that if the wife doesn’t apply some kind of consequence to this sort of behavior, such as expressing that frustration, requiring counseling, or maybe petitioning leaving the marriage, that communicates a signal that the sort of behavior was tolerated.”
Turning the other cheek to infidelity can also be hazardous to your health, Dr. Sanders adds.
“One client was cheated on four separate times, and each time she kept pushing it under the rug, never addressing it,” she states. “And the last time, once she really addressed it, she had an emotional breakdown because she discovered that she had been infected with herpes.”
Schwarzenegger, a Republican and Shriver, a Democrat, were one of the most famous power couples on the planet. Shriver has since moved to dissolve the union.
