Does an Online Relationship Count as Cheating?
Posted on Sep 23, 2022 10:25am PDT
Recently, an online cheating scandal involving Adam Levine made headlines
nationwide.
According to Women’s Health, a magazine featuring news for and about
women, Levine has been accused of exchanging flirtatious private messages
with multiple women on Instagram. Levine is married to and shares two children with supermodel Behati Prinsloo
(who is currently pregnant with the couple’s third child).
At least, one of the women that Levine is accused of exchanging messages
with claims that the alleged affair wasn’t limited to online messaging.
The woman claims that she and Levine had a physical affair as well. However,
Levine has denied that his relationship with any of the women went beyond
exchanging messages on Instagram.
Is Exchanging Online Messages Cheating?
This is up for debate and honestly depends on the circumstances. Some couples
have open relationships and don’t consider anything cheating as
long as their spouse seeks their approval before pursuing extramarital
relationships. In other instances, there are couples who don’t have
open relationships, but they don’t consider flirting to be cheating.
However, there are plenty of situations where married couples would absolutely
consider exchanging flirty private online messages with someone else a
violation of their marriage vows.
How Does Adultery Impact Divorce in California?
California is a no-fault
divorce state. This means that things such as adultery don’t have much impact
on the legal aspects of a couple’s divorce unless the affair involved
the couple’s marital finances or property or hurt their children
in a significant and/or material way.
Examples of ways that adultery could impact divorce in California:
-
If money from a couple’s joint bank account was used to finance the
affair in any way, including purchasing expensive gifts, paying for the
other person’s housing, or providing the other person with a vehicle,
it could impact
property division and
spousal support agreements.
-
If the person who a spouse is in an extramarital relationship with physically
hurts the couple’s children (or puts them in danger) or is considered
a danger to the couple’s kids, it could impact
child custody and
visitation decisions.
Considering divorce? Our legal team at Arnold Law Group, APC
can help. Reach out to us online
or give us a call at
(559) 900-1263 or to schedule a confidential consultation with our experienced divorce lawyers in Fresno.