In the pursuit of love and happiness, a lot can go wrong. While this doesn’t mean that loving, attentive, reliable partners don’t exist, it is a paramount practice to navigate the sea of love with eyes wide open. This protects you from unnecessary hurt and guarantees a more positive outcome in your future.
At any given moment, when you access an online dating site or even meet someone in a bar, a percentage of those people will be married. This means they’ve promised another person they will spend the rest of their life, ’til “death do you part” and are only looking at you as fun on the side or a temporary distraction. Statistics show there are more men than women who date online. However, overall, those who are secretly married can be of either gender.
Not all relationships begin online. What about the cute guy or gal who strikes up a conversation with you at the grocery store with their cart full of frozen pizza and bananas? There are many ways that would-be lovers and couples meet. While a married individual might rightly find you attractive, if you don’t want to be the “other” man or woman, the following steps can help you.
#1: The Classic- “Wedding Band Line”
Though this may not work in the dead of winter or cooler climates, check their wedding ring finger for tan lines or if they just met up with you, indentations where they removed their wedding band before meeting for your date.
#2: The Schedule- “Rigid and Consistent”
Are impromptu dates, phone calls, or sporadic messages a thing of rarity? Have you begun to notice a specific schedule for in-person dates? Do they, for instance, only talk or see you at certain times or days? While a busy schedule and high profile job can explain some of this, if it feels as though you’ve signed up for a specific and rigid relationship schedule without intending to, one of two things are at play. Either, they’re just not that into you or emotionally unavailable and likely married!
#3: The Friends & Family Clause
If they’re interested in meeting your family and friends, great! However, don’t let this distract you from whether or not they’re as interested in introducing you to the people in their life. If you’ve been dating for a period of time and have not met the people they hold dear, be suspicious!
#4: A Secret Getaway
While it’s fun to travel and dine out of town or away from your traditional stomping grounds, take notice if your date is limiting you to cities, restaurants, or places where they don’t know anyone who might catch them with you. Married cheaters are infamous for avoiding local hot-spots where they might see someone who knows their spouse!
#5: Online Affair
Married people often turn to emotional affairs online as a way of cheating without actually ‘physically’ cheating. Maybe your online lover isn’t a true Catfish who is concealing an entirely different identity, but they might still be hiding that they are married!
#6: The Fake Widower
It’s hard not to sympathize with the grief that someone who has lost their spouse or life partner feels. How would you react if you found out their spouse was not only alive but is well and kicking! In order to explain some of their life details, married cheaters sometimes pass off their marriage as ending due to their partner’s death. This excuses them from bothersome questions about their divorce process and falsely explains some of their hesitancy to talk about their current partner (“ex”)!
#7: Slow Going
Is your relationship hot, passionate and everything you want… but your partner seems uninterested in taking it to the next level? If you’re unintentionally seeing someone who is already married, they will be perfectly happy having mind-blowing sex and adoration while maintaining the status quo of casual dating for an extended period of time.
#8: Phone Baby
While most people have passwords on their phones these days and maintain basic phone privacy, someone who is lying or cheating will be even more secretive. They will take their phone with them everywhere, never leave it unattended, and turn the screen from your view when checking text messages!
#9: Social Media
If you’ve been communicating or seeing one another for some time and they haven’t added you or your relationship status to their social media accounts (such as Facebook), consider why they are preventing your relationship from being known to the world!
Still not sure if your crush is secretly married or widowed as they claim to be? At Social Catfish we KNOW the pain and anguish that being tricked or deceived can bring. That is why we have fine-tuned the process! With us on your side, you can immediately access details about anyone. Don’t take their word for it. Find out for sure!