In the majority of cases, cheating can't be condoned. Not only is it a cruel and selfish thing to do to someone whom you're supposed to "love", but you're risking the future of your relationship. I mean, there's no good excuse for getting physical with someone other than your partner (no matter how many alcoholic beverages you consumed prior to the fact). It really is about self-control and if you're needing to actually restrain yourself in everyday scenarios, you may want to consider calling it quits on your current relationship.
What's surprisingly common, however, are dreams where you are cheating on your partner - even if you'd never do it in your waking life. According to a new study surveying 1,000 people by the bedding company Leesa, nearly 60 per cent of women have had a dream about cheating on their partner.
But don't fret - dreaming about getting it on with that attractive colleague or an ex doesn't necessarily mean you're thinking of skipping out on your partner, according to relationship psychologist Karin Anderson Abrell.
As Abrell states, those kind of dreams are more about your brain processing and going through the day's thoughts and experiences than anything else.
Dreams about a previous partner can be a result of anything from running into them in real life, to seeing something that reminds you of them, the relationship expert explained. Certainly, cheating with an ex in your dream is the psychological equivalent of your brain returning to a place that used to be familiar - and in this regard, it doesn't necessarily mean that you want to get back together with them.
Alternatively, if you dream about doing the dirty with a stranger, it might be just because you saw an attractive person on your commute to work, and they then stuck in some far corner of your brain, Abrell continued.
The same goes for dreaming about Brad Pitt or any other attractive movie or television star - in all likelihood, you just can't get over how hot they are - and there's no harm in that.
So if you have a one-off dream about cheating on your boyfriend or girlfriend, don't read too much into it. "People freak out about this, but they shouldn’t," Abrell stated. I mean, dreams about cheating or being cheated on are one of the top five most common dream topics out there, after all.
However, if you keep having recurring dreams about betraying your partner, it may be worthwhile to step back and think about why you keep having the same dream, and whether there's any room for improvement in your relationship.
It could be nothing, but it could also be that your subconscious is trying to let you know that something is wrong somewhere.
In related news, Ariana Grande has finally responded to claims that she cheated on her ex-boyfriend, Mac Miller.