A dating expert has revealed the subtle signs to watch out for that could signal your partner is "micro-cheating" - and one of them is worryingly common.

Getting cheated on is one of the hardest things for any relationship to overcome, and while some people are able to forgive and forget, it can be a deal-breaker for others.

And while some signs are pretty obvious - such as catching them in the act, finding messages between them and someone else, or the clichéd giveaway of lipstick on a collar - there can be some warning signs of a partner "micro-cheating" before they go the whole hog.

A dating expert, who goes by M on TikTok, shared the signs a person could be disrespecting their partner by "micro-cheating".

She explained: "You won’t find evidence, you won’t see texts — but you know that something is going on. That’s how silent cheating works."

According to Psychology Today, micro-cheating - also known as silent cheating - involves subtle behaviors that blur the lines of what is acceptable in a relationship.

M revealed that one of the key signs involves the way a person behaves with their cell phone, explaining: "I feel like we’ve all been in this one, is this person is acting very suspicious with their phone.

"They are turning their screen away when they’re texting, or they’re suddenly exiting out of apps when you walk by."

She added: "You might notice certain contacts or messages mysteriously disappearing, and if you ask who they're talking to, they might get weirdly defensive, like 'Why do you even care?' or 'Just a friend'."

And while that is suspicious enough on its own, M also shared other signs that something might be amiss in your relationship.

She explained that "innocent flirting" may not be what it seems, and could be a person "toeing the line" of what's acceptable in their relationship.

This is flirting that's enough to make their partner uncomfortable but not enough to actually accuse them of infidelity, as they may play it off as them just "being nice".

She added: "They might engage with certain people, like, comment, follow people that make you uncomfortable, but not outright enough for you to call it cheating.

"It’s so confusing. They have these overly friendly comments, inside jokes, these just barely there physical touches, and if you bring it up they will brush it off."

Another red flag could be if they have a particularly close relationship with an ex - as they could be lining up a backup love interest.

She explained: "They might keep their options open without technically cheating.

"This is their way of keeping somebody in their life who clearly has a romantic interest in them and it's like they're always keeping a backup plan just in case."

And it's not just exes you need to keep an eye out for - if your partner is building an emotional connection with someone else, that could be micro-cheating, too.

M explained: "Are they building emotional intimacy with somebody else? Are they confiding in someone about things that they should be discussing with you? Are they turning to this person for validation, for comfort, for connection but claiming that it's nothing?

"It might not be physical, but it still leaves you feeling like you’re being emotionally replaced - that's silent cheating."

And while all of these might be concerning enough, M believes the fifth warning sign is possibly the most important of all - if they become defensive when you raise your concerns.

She explained: "Instead of reassuring you, they get defensive when you bring up your concerns, and they flip it on you: ‘Wow, so you don’t trust me?’ or ‘You’re just paranoid.’

"A lot of the time, they never actually deny it — they just make you feel very guilty for even asking."

While micro-cheating can be almost as devastating as actual cheating, there are a few expert-approved ways to bring up the subject.

William Schroeder, a therapist and owner of Just Mind Counseling centers in Austin, Texas, suggested bringing up the fact your partner is on their phone more than usual rather than accusing them of doing you dirty outright.

He also suggests discussing boundaries with one another so there is no ambiguity over what each person finds acceptable, such as remaining friendly with exes, and addressing the issue head-on as soon as it happens rather than letting it fester is also key.

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You may not have heard of 'phubbing,' but it's extremely likely you've done it at some point. You may have done it earlier today. In fact, you might literally be doing it right now.

Internet dating has given us a wide range of creative terms and ways of identifying particular dating trends in the past. There's curving, where someone tries to reject you in confusing indirect ways; you-turning, when someone falls head over heels in love and then completely changes their mind; and benching, when you're put in the proverbial 'maybe' folder while your date sees what else is out there.

Beyond this, there's Bird Boxing, Gatsbying, microcheating, and - the usual suspect - ghosting. But not all trends are quite so nefarious, and some aren't deliberate at all. With phubbing, you may not realise you're doing it to your partner, and it is likely something that affects all manner of relationships - romantic or otherwise.

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Phubbing is the act of ignoring the person you're with, opting to stare at your phone instead. While it's a behaviour many will associate with grumpy teenagers or social media-obsessed Instagrammers, it's something that many of us will be caught out on doing, without realising quite how rude we're being.

Speaking to Cosmopolitan, Katie Ziskind from Wisdom Within Counseling spoke about how this behaviour affects others, their perception of you and your relationship to them:

"When you value your phone over someone who’s in person, the person that’s in front of you will feel unwanted and may not want to keep hanging out with you.

"If you’re on your phone all the time, you may not have very many friends because no one wants to hang out with someone who is disconnected emotionally. Because you’re not paying attention to important people in your life and loved ones, they may stop thinking of you as important."

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At the end of the day, either they're worth spending time with or not. If you want to spend that time with them - then it's time to put your phone down and share a moment with them, rather than isolating yourself in your Twitter feed - especially when you're just scrolling aimlessly.

On top of this, sex therapist Vanessa Marin weighed in to speak on how phubbing can affect our romantic relationships too. She said:

"Most of us tend to think that our cell phone habits aren't a big deal, but the reality is that our phones are causing a ton of tension in our relationships.

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"Phubbing hurts your partner's feelings, makes them feel ignored and unimportant, and prevents the two of you from having quality time and creating more intimacy."

It might seem like some obvious advice to not ignore your partner, but given how much we use our phones these days, it may be worth examining how often you start swiping in the middle of a conversation.

As if there wasn't already enough to be worrying about in 2017, the powers that be have just thrown another "dating trend" at us - and it's a nasty one. While most of us are now pretty familiar with what "ghosting" is, we're still getting adjusted to "phubbing" (i.e. phone snubbing - or ignoring your partner for the sake of checking your Insta/trawling through Twitter), "cushioning" (having a backup person in case your relationship turns sour), and "love bombing" (showering someone in affection before turning round and acting like a total jerk). And, if all of that wasn't already enough to put you off dating for life, there's another new kid on the block: "roaching". Roaching usually happens early on in the dating phase of a potential relationship - the bit where you're not quite sure if you're just hooking up, or preparing to make it something more serious. You text them all the time, you hang out a few times a week, and, for all intents and purposes, you seem to be pretty exclusive. But then you notice that they're still active on Tinder, and always seem to be DM'ing someone else while in your presence. So you mention it - only tentatively, of course, because you don't want to come on too strong - but the response you get is not at all what you wanted: "I thought this was just a casual thing." Coined by AskMen, the trend gets its name from douchebags who show cockroach-like tendencies when it comes to concealing parts of their lives. As the article explains: "Roaching is the name we're giving to this dating trend — because, as the adage goes, when you see one cockroach, there are many more you don't see. In this case, you may have seen just this person, but their hurtful behavior was hiding a number of other confidants, crushes, dates, flirtations, hookups and maybe even relationships from you. And like cockroaches, the behavior's very common, and kind of nasty." The trend seems to be more common among people who have met on dating sites or apps, as the ambiguity the platforms provide makes it easy for somebody to claim: "Oh, I just thought you wanted a Netflix and Chill sort of thing". Those who engage in roaching will often try to play the blame game, too. Rather than take accountability for their dishonesty, they'll put the onus on you, saying that you should have stipulated what sort of thing you were looking for earlier on, or even that you should have avoided using something like Tinder or Bumble if you were really after something serious. If you've been roached, don't feel like it's your fault at all. The kinds of people who engage in such manipulative behavior will always try to turn the situation on its head, and make it seem as if you were the one who messed up - but don't buy into it. Ultimately, the only way to avoid "roaching" is to be totally open about what you're looking for fairly on in the "getting together" stage. If you want something with no strings, that's cool, but let the other person know about it. Likewise, if you're hoping to find the love of your life online, make it clear from the offset.

Dating has change a lot in the last few years. It wasn't that long ago that online dating was primarily used by divorcees and other single people who were a little older and looking to settle down. Nowadays it's seen as a little unusual if you don't use at least one dating app or online service of some sort, and most people aren't looking for potential partners in bars, clubs or cafes - after all, why do that when you can find out what someone is like before you meet up with them?

However, it's not like this new dating landscape doesn't have its downsides. In fact, there are so many ways that people can screw you over that the new terms cropping up could fill their own dictionary. Most people are familiar with ghosting (now officially in the dictionary), when someone suddenly withdraws from all communication without explanation, but there are plenty of other dating trends to look out for.

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There's 'stashing', where someone decides to hide the person they're dating from their family and friends. They may be dating in most senses of the word, but they can get away with treating you worse because deep down they see it as you're not actually together. Then there's 'mosting', where someone comes on strong (maybe even too strong), before deciding to ghost after all.

There's too many terms to count, including the likes of 'curving', 'orbiting', 'r-bombing', 'Gatsbying', and 'microcheating' - which all work towards making the single life a little less desirable. And now there's a new one that people have picked up on, known as 'you-turning'.

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You-turning is where someone falls head over heels in love with someone by all accounts, but then suddenly changes their mind and acts completely differently - either ghosting or showing a lot less passion and interest despite their earlier behaviour. It's a sudden and intense change to go through, and can leave you feeling a little crazy, wondering whether you did something wrong or just misunderstood the entire situation.

According to a survey undertaken by dating service Plenty of Fish, around 29% of those on the dating scene have experienced this kind of behaviour from someone, which is pretty damn high when you think about it. On top of this, women are reportedly more likely to 'you-turn' than men are, with 23% of men doing it compared to 37% of women.

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It's hard to control your emotions, and there's always the chance that you can have strong feelings that start to lessen over time - but it's still possible to communicate how you feel in a transparent way, and maybe pay a little attention to how your behaviour could be interpreted by someone else.

A rarer but no less frustrating dating trend that was coined by eharmony last year is 'scroogeing', where someone is broken up with right before Christmas just so they don't have to buy a gift. Apparently, 18 to 24-year-olds are the worst offenders with this trend, deciding to call it quits to avoid splashing out on a present. Hopefully none of you had to deal with this particular trend over the holidays...

With the likes of Tinder, Bumble, OKCupid and more, as well as improving acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community, dating in the modern world is unlike any beast we've come across before. Now, with little more than a flick of the finger, you can potentially set yourself up with the love of your life, but somehow, we've found a way to ruin it all. With all of these technological avenues to travel down, dating should be easier than ever, but if anything, finding someone to hold close in those warm winter months (or at least to hold the camera for you so you can take your Instagram game to the next level) is way more complicated than it really has any right being. Take a quick trip to the internet, and you'll find plenty of articles describing all the ways people looking for love can be the absolute worst. You've probably heard of catfishing, but breadcrumbing and lovebombing are also dating phrases I swear I didn't make up for the purpose of this. Now, we've got another insane trend that threatens to ruin modern relationships forever. For once, though, this has little to do with all the dire dating dances we have to contend with, and more to do with your activity once you've tricked some poor soul into loving you. According to research undertaken at Baylor University, as many as 70 percent of relationships are being ruined by "phubbing". It sounds like some sort of obscene sex act conceived on the cartoon Rick and Morty, but I promise it isn't (at least not yet). Instead, it's an awkward portmanteau of "phone" and "snubbing", and you can probably guess what it means. With a study consisting of 143 individuals, researchers at this Texas-based institution found that their partner's phone was an unwelcome guest in what would otherwise be a loving and fulfilling coupling. Phubbing has a massive impact on your relationship satisfaction, as well as life satisfaction, as study lead Dr James Roberts explains. "The presence and use of cell phones are ever-increasing causing the boundaries that separate our work and other interests from our romantic relationships to become more and more blurred. As a result, the occurrence of phubbing is nearly inevitable. In fact, from a sample of 143 individuals involved in romantic relationships, 70% responded that cell phones ‘sometimes,’ ‘often,’ ‘very often,’ or ‘all the time’ interfered in their interactions with their partners." Roberts also has gone as far as saying even glancing at your phone while with your partner can lead to that partner being significantly depressed. "[Phubbing] can create a domino effect: As our study also showed, when we're not happily in love, we are also less likely to be satisfied, overall, with life. We’re also more likely to report that we are depressed." So there you have it, folks. I know that our mobile phones are increasingly becoming a mainstay in all of our lives, but we should give our loved ones around us the attention they deserve. Otherwise, that phone you spend so much of your time with may end up being used to find another relationship entirely.