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You Asked... "Is He Cyber-Cheating?"

Experts and readers answer our members' toughest dating and relationship questions

By Ilana Donna Arazie, Jeff Cohen, and SerahRose Roth Updated: Mar 31, 2008
You Asked...
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"For over a month now I have been talking with this guy I met on a dating site. We have talked for hours every night. We finally met and we now see each other 2 or 3 times a week. He pulled his profile from the site and said he wants to date only me. I'm thrilled because he is a great man.
 
"My question is, how can I know for sure that he really only wants to be with me? I found him on another site, but he says he's been inactive for more than three months. Should I call him on it or just let it go? We have a great time together, and yes, we recently had sex for the first time after five dates. Nevertheless, how should I know if I am the only one he's seeing? I have really fallen for him."-- Donna H., 46, Melbourne, Florida
 
Ilana Donna Arazie Answers
Donna -- Congrats on getting your guy to take his profile down. That's a Herculean accomplishment in the game of online dating! Get out the bubbly.
“Now, why would you think he is lying to you about dating you exclusively?”
Now, why would you think he is lying to you about dating you exclusively? When we first start to feel close to someone, women tend to get paranoid and fear that our newfound happiness will suddenly vanish. You need to snap out of it before it gets self-destructive or the man begins to sense it. Cynicism and suspicion can be pretty unattractive!
If curiosity is really killing you, check out this "other" dating site and find out if he's actually been inactive. Personal sites are great at documenting how often people visit/update/actively log in to their profiles. When you have gotten the snooping urge out of your system, take a deep breath and sit back. Let this relationship grow without anxiety or fear.
You like this guy for a reason and he hasn't done anything to prove unworthy of your trust. Next time you're in bed together, having sweet pillow talk, casually mention that you're happy you both aren't dating other people. If you see him squirm, you may want to get out that bottle of bubbly again -- only this time, drink it with your girlfriends for a bitch-and-moan feel-good session till you get him out of your system!
Ilana Donna Arazie produces a video blog about love and dating in a big city at downtowndiary.com. She works at the Associated Press.
Jeff Cohen Answers
Donna -- I'm going to give you three ways to handle this situation. You can choose which one best suits your personality and go for it. Having dealt with this issue before, I know most folks would prefer to take the mature approach but instead rely on the gut-feel approach, only to resort to the sneaky approach to gather some hard evidence. But if you really want to stay out of the snooping department and keep things on the right track from the start, I highly recommend you stick with either the gut-feel or mature approach.
#1: The Sneaky Approach. Ask one of your single friends to join the online dating site where he's still active. Then have that friend contact your man and express interest. If he writes back, you'll know he's been lying. If he never gets back to your friend, then he's probably no longer active on that site.
#2: The Gut-Feel Approach.
“Look for other signs that he's cheating.”
Look for other signs that he's cheating. For example, does he overly protect his cell phone voicemails and text messages? Does he avoid answering directly what he's up to on nights you don't get together? Does he have a few too many female friends? The more signs he's cheating, the more likely it's true.
#3: The Mature Approach. We all know healthy relationships are built on open communication. So you can just ask him about the other site. The key is not to come across as angry or jealous. That will make your man defensive, and he'll either deny everything or accuse you of snooping.
Jeff Cohen is the author of "Dating, Inc.," a new book that shows women a step-by-step plan for finding true love using the same skills that already make them successful at work.
SerahRose Roth Answers
Donna -- First off, what were you doing searching for your new beau on another dating site? I know how tempting it is to do an online search for everyone you know, but it will drive you mad. It's the equivalent of looking up "sore throat" and all of the online answers have you convinced that you'll die within the hour.
“Relationships are all about honesty and trust.”
Relationships are all about honesty and trust. You don't need to trust him yet -- trust takes time to build -- but that should be your ultimate goal. In order to trust people, though, you need to be honest. Start now. Rather than "calling him on it," try telling him your own worries first: that you're concerned he's not as committed to you as you would like him to be. And then ask him straight up whether you're (to borrow a nice little term from the golden oldie club) "steady" or if he's still playing the field.
SerahRose Roth is 28, single, under-slept, employed full-time pretending she knows about web sites, employed part-time teaching high school students how to shine in the limelight, and over-loved by a precocious toddler. You can follow her exploits on her blog, Single Mom with Tiny Tot.
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A Yahoo! Contributor
Hey, I don&#39;t know where you fine people are, and you did give this woman some fine advice. But where I&#39;m from and every where I have lived, isn&#39;t the guitly one the first to be the accusser? And if not guilty of dead, thought? What has happened, to this woman, that the next man that comes along has to put up with this sad situation. Unless this woman is fiddleing around with a player. Isn&#39;t she sabatoging her chance at happiness. Isn&#39;t that is what we are all after? And I wish everyone else was happy too. Her case, she needs to ask the question, point blank. I hate to say this, but if I&#39;m sleeping with you and I&#39;m not the only one. I think that would be a need to know, the other person deservse to know, so they know where they stand and make the desion of whether or not to allow this situation they have put themselves in. Live life and be happy. Honey if you don&#39;t find love and what you were looking for here, keep trying.
No Photo
I wouldn&#39;t worry about him being faithful when you met him on a dating site. Time is going to tell the story. The bigger question to me is he really going to be the way he represented himself to you online or will there be another personality to deal with after being with him for some time? If he&#39;s cheating, time is going to tell the story and you are better off knowing he&#39;s a cheater, the sooner the better. Removing his profile is a good sign, no one is going to have to convince him not to cheat as you two grow closer.
A Yahoo! Contributor
Wow, this very thing happened to me this year. I met a woman on Yahoo personals last summer and we dated for a whole year. I thought I was in a great relationship. We did have the talk about just seeing each other. I trusted her totally and I thought we were getting closer. But I come to find that she was reading my work/personal emails. She has spyware on her computer because of her two teenage daughters. And when I logged on she was able to get my password and she started checking my emails after the first month we started dating. She finally told me she has a trust issue with men. When I asked why would she do something like that to someone who never gave her a reason to...she said it was a habit and she couldnt stop herself. She has done it before to other guys she dated and so no reason why she shouldnt do it to me. So I would like to issue a warning to all those who uses someone elses computer. Be careful of using your passwords. And the sad thing about this...is she is back online looking to do the same to someone else.
A Yahoo! Contributor
Donna: No wonder you don&#39;t trust him! Why were YOU looking in another site if you like him so much and want an exclusive relationship? He sounds like a great guy, don&#39;t screw it up by not trusting him. On the contrary, treat him well, trust him and he&#39;ll be trustworthy.
A Yahoo! Contributor
Well this is a familiar scenario! For about 4 months I had been in what I thought was a monogamous relationship, then I asked that question (Are you still looking and wanting to date other people?) He lied first, then went totally silent. No responses to my phone messages or emails, I finally gave up. Total blow off with narry a word of explanation or apology. My advice to anyone in this situation is HELL YEAH check them out on other sites, men or women doesn&#39;t matter, because they would rather sneak around than tell the truth. He was on messenger with my best friend after 2 emails, but never missed a beat looking like the ideal boyfriend with me. Some of us are too darn gullible so it doesn&#39;t hurt to check them out. If they are offended then simply explain that you&#39;ve been dumped on before so you&#39;re just being cautious, and offer to let them check you out as well. That way its mutual and you&#39;re not being a hypocrite.
A Yahoo! Contributor
Wow! Lot&#39;s of this going around. I went to another dating site because the address showed up on my computer. I was thinking maybe my teenaged son was going to this site which was more of a sex site than a dating site - who shows up? The boyfriend I met on Yahoo and who cancelled his subscription right in front of me and had his profile removed. Before I was able to confront him on this issue, I got a phone call from his wife. Talk about cheating! Well, he&#39;s signed on at Yahoo - again! And yes I did report him - but he&#39;s still there.
No Photo
It’s not obvious if he’s really cheating on you or not. Otherwise you wouldn’t be worrying about it. You might also want to define for yourself at least what would be cheating. Would that include flirting on dating websites without actually intending to go a step further and meet someone? Is he still unsure about your relationship and not fully committed to it? Does he still want to test the waters? Could it be that he just forgot about that other dating website? Lots of questions to help you out; or confuse you even more. One thing you could do to sort this all out is try that mature approach described above. You got to know how to be mature though otherwise it might just degenerate into an argument which is not the goal here. The idea is to figure out where he really stands and to a certain extent where you stand as well. After all, you seem to have more an issue with all this than he does. So, in a way it’s about figuring out your own expectations and desires out of this relationship as much as it is his. Get really mature and ready for this talk. It’s the type which can happen early in a relationship and decides, like some major test, whether it just breaks... or goes on rejuvenated and solidified... at least until the next big one. ;)
No Photo
I think it&#39;s wonderful that people can share their Internet dating experience with others. This feels like it could become such a valuable learning experience. Let&#39;s face it, there are some pro&#39;s and cons that are associated with this environment. For first-timers, it can be quite tramatic. Thank you everyone for the dialogue.
A Yahoo! Contributor
dont second guess him if you cant trust him from the get go and give him that until he/she messes up than maybe you should reconsider dating..even with a few warning you have to get to know someone not assume that all men and all women are cheaters or l iars.
A Yahoo! Contributor
I think that it&#39;s natural for you to worry that he may be cheating on you. Every now and then I feel this &quot;paranoia&quot; of sorts but then being with my girlfriend convinces me that that&#39;s all it is. Paranoia. It&#39;s a nagging sensation in our brain that makes us want to believe the worst in everything and everyone. This paranoia could be a good thing, but I think that you should trust him. Sure your trust could be broken horribly, but it would be better for that to happen than to lose him because he got mad that you didn&#39;t trust him. Try to silence the paranoia inside of you and enjoy being with the one you care about instead of constantly worrying that he is cheating on you or is trying to.
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