Your Friend Cheats: Should You Tell?

By Jimmy Bosch, BounceBack Editorial Staff

Loyalty between friends is very important. Your friends will be there for you in times of trouble and sadness, so it’s important to make sure you have their back when they need you. But what do you do when you see a friend doing something that you just do not agree with?

If your close friend was to confide in you that he/she was cheating on his/her significant other, are you supposed to keep their secret via the rules of friendship, or should you tell the other person? In a situation like this, it’s very important to test morality versus loyalty. While in some senses it seems like a no brainer to tell the innocent girl/guy what’s going on, it can also be just as easy to keep your mouth shut and stay out of trouble. Depending on the circumstances, you may have to live with your compromised morality or potentially lose a friend.

There are many things to think about in a situation like this. You have to take into account things like how long you’ve been friends, how long your friend has been in this relationship, and whether or not they are happy together. While it might seem right to tell someone rather than stay quiet, you could be destroying an otherwise happy relationship and losing a good friend in the fallout. On the other hand, if the relationship is rocky and you think it should end, telling the person what you know could be the final push, even if it means your friend being angry with you. Regardless of what action you take, you can never truly determine how people will react. Your friend will be angry for telling their secret and being an untrustworthy friend. Your friend’s significant other may get angry when you tell them what you know for compromising what they thought was a fine relationship, or simply for being the bearer of bad news.

On the other hand, if you decide to stay quiet, there are still consequences to deal with. You will have to live with the secret and watch the relationship continue to go on despite how may feel about it. You may begin to feel different about your friend, wondering if you can still trust them if they are so easily able to lie to someone they care for or even love. This can make things awkward and may create tense moments between you and your friend, which can damage the friendship you had been trying to avoid damaging. By the same token, if you can look past everything without this guilt or awkwardness, then you can move on and watch the relationship pan out as a third party.

“To tell or not to tell?” There is no clear-cut answer to this question. There are potential consequences for both choices and it really depends on your own sense of morality. We at BounceBack believe that honesty is the best policy, and the situation could possibly be handled by first being honest with your friend and demanding that they are honest with their significant other – hence keeping you out of the middle of the situation but allowing the right thing to happen. All that depends on your friend.

So, given this situation, what would you do: tell or not tell?

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http://www.shine.yahoo.com/channel/sex/your-friend-cheats-should-you-tell-2477259/

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