Are you considered 'Single' when you are Dating?

[WORLDJR91]

There was a bit of a debate on a another forum awhile back about someone Cheating who was not Married but was Dating. There was a well known person who had Cheated on his Girlfriend multiple times however some claim he was 'single' even so he really was not and had been in a Long Term Committed Relationship with this other person. the Guy also had an affair after the Marriage.

 

 

A couple people said it was not cheating because they were not Married and so they were 'single' even so they were dating someone.

 

There was a debate on a TV forums as well very recently about a Character who kiss someone that was not the Girlfriend and so was a debate on whether it was Cheating. Many say it was cheating because they were not Single. Some said it was not cheating because it was just a kiss but that a different discussion for another time.

 

The Vast majority seemed to agree (Like me) that when you are dating someone You are not single even so you are not Married you are still in a Relationship episodically if it a Long term one.

 

When you are just playing the Bachelor Life and go from one casual relationship to the next.

 

 

So My Question is:

 

Are you considered 'Single' when you are just Dating?

 

If you Boyfriend/Girlfriend was sleeping someone else would be Betrayed?

 

Would it matter how long you been in the relationship?

Edited November 15, 2015 by WORLDJR91

[d0nnivain]

Under the strictest definition until you are married, you are single.

 

 

However, if you made promises to someone about being exclusive & monogamous, kissing another is cheating. Until you both have the discussion & make the agreement, you are free to do whatever & whomever you like, imo.

[ASG]

I would consider someone in a relationship to NOT be single.

 

If they're only in the early stages of dating and/or just casual dating, then yes, they are single.

 

But as soon as you commit to someone (and that means labelling the relationship as bf/gf or whatever), you are not single anymore and if you kiss and/or have sex (of any kind) with someone else that is NOT your SO, you ARE cheating.

[Mrlonelyone]

Under the strictest definition until you are married, you are single.

 

 

However, if you made promises to someone about being exclusive & monogamous, kissing another is cheating. Until you both have the discussion & make the agreement, you are free to do whatever & whomever you like, imo.

 

^This

 

look at the forms you fill out for the government, credit, etc. There isn't an option for dating on there. Single, Married, Civil Union, Divorced, Widowed. Those are the real official statuses. Dating is so ephemeral and so easy to end. No one who has been married looks back on their previous LTR's as anything but trial runs, detours, or life lessons learned on the path to marriage. Only engaged might come close.

 

It is cheating if you have the exclusivity talk then screw someone else. Just as it can be ok to play around if you have an honest open marriage.

[d0nnivain]

I would consider someone in a relationship to NOT be single. .

 

 

The "problem" is that if you look them up on a public records official government run list of any sort until they are married or have had a civil union, they are still considered single. Yes, social media may tell a different story but that doesn't change the legal definition.

 

 

Part of this is about communication. Part is about your own personal BS detector. How good are you at knowing somebody is lying?

[ASG]

The "problem" is that if you look them up on a public records official government run list of any sort until they are married or have had a civil union, they are still considered single. Yes, social media may tell a different story but that doesn't change the legal definition.

 

 

Part of this is about communication. Part is about your own personal BS detector. How good are you at knowing somebody is lying?

 

I really couldn't care less about the legal definition, as I don't usually go look in public records for whether people are married or not...

 

I'm just talking about what I consider to be cheating. And if you are in a relationship and you screw someone else, you are cheating. Even if you lied. There are no two ways about it.

 

If I find out my BF slept with/kissed someone else, he will be kicked to the kerb. Regardless of whether he's legally cheating or not!

Also, cheating is not just cheating if you find out. The person doing it knows they're doing it. It's still cheating even if you can't see it.

[Buddhist]

I only have two modes, single or partnered. If I am having sex with someone that means I'm not single. There is very little grey area in my life.

[todreaminblue]

to me dating someone exclusively isnt single....if it has been discussed and you are exclusive then you are taken until that relationship is over....to me dating is an exclusive relationship as a prelude to something more permanent....so marriage...that's my opinion though..single to me means totally free...deb

[frogs88]

Using the legal definition of 'single' to excuse cheating is just some botched logic to create a loophole that isn't even there. We all know when we have cheated or have been cheated on - legally or not.

[Empyrea]

My definition:

 

Single and not seeing anyone - obviously not cheating

Single and casually dating/multidating - not cheating

Single and seeing someone (i.e. haven't agreed to be exclusive, but have feelings) - not cheating, but I would feel guilty about it

In an exclusive relationship - cheating

Engaged - cheating!

Married - cheating!

[ASG]

My definition:

 

Single and not seeing anyone - obviously not cheating

Single and casually dating/multidating - not cheating

Single and seeing someone (i.e. haven't agreed to be exclusive, but have feelings) - not cheating, but I would feel guilty about it

In an exclusive relationship - cheating

Engaged - cheating!

Married - cheating!

 

My absolute exact feelings.

[Redhead14]

There was a bit of a debate on a another forum awhile back about someone Cheating who was not Married but was Dating. There was a well known person who had Cheated on his Girlfriend multiple times however some claim he was 'single' even so he really was not and had been in a Long Term Committed Relationship with this other person. the Guy also had an affair after the Marriage.

 

 

A couple people said it was not cheating because they were not Married and so they were 'single' even so they were dating someone.

 

There was a debate on a TV forums as well very recently about a Character who kiss someone that was not the Girlfriend and so was a debate on whether it was Cheating. Many say it was cheating because they were not Single. Some said it was not cheating because it was just a kiss but that a different discussion for another time.

 

The Vast majority seemed to agree (Like me) that when you are dating someone You are not single even so you are not Married you are still in a Relationship episodically if it a Long term one.

 

When you are just playing the Bachelor Life and go from one casual relationship to the next.

 

 

So My Question is:

 

Are you considered 'Single' when you are just Dating?

 

If you Boyfriend/Girlfriend was sleeping someone else would be Betrayed?

 

Would it matter how long you been in the relationship?

 

The word Commitment prior to marriage, is about giving your word to be emotionally/morally committed to another person. It is understood, that when a couple declares or considers themselves to be boyfriend and girlfriend, that they have committed themselves to be loyal to the other person. It's about your character and living up to your word. The period where a couple is boyfriend and girlfriend is the "test" of each person's character and whether they can uphold their word and demonstrate that they can move forward to marriage if that is what they both want. If they don't intend to marry but wish to have a long-term relationship, their word is their bond.

 

Technically, legally, they are single. But, morally and ethically, you are in a committed relationship.

 

If someone decides to use the "I am not married, therefore single" and can do whatever I want to a case of cheating, that is a statement of character and a bad one.

 

If one party in a committed relationship is swayed by someone else and decides to be with another person, they owe it to the committed partner to end the relationship before moving on.

[RedRobin]

To me, if someone is having sex with me or some other person, then they aren't single.

 

If they are dating or seeing someone else, I don't care what they call it or if they claim not to be having sex with them or they claim to be just casual, they are not single.

 

I believe that multidaters and those having casual sex should stick together and not try to date me, a bonafide not dating or sleeping with others single person...because frankly, I have better things to do than help them sort out their confused life.

 

that's more or less what I tell every not single, dating others, sleeping with others, unmarried or married, man who tries to get with me. I just don't have any interest in dealing with that garbage. If it wasn't for the fact that so many of those guys still want to try and date women like me, there wouldn't be a problem. As it is, they don't seem to be content to stick with women who share their values, which I find incredibly annoying.

[d0nnivain]

I'm not using the legal definition of single to excuse cheating. You can absolutely cheat on a SO married or not. All I said was that until you are married you are legally single. If you promise your partner that you are exclusive & monogamous but you break that promise, you are a liar & a cheater.