Should I tell my girlfriend that her boyfriend is cheating?

United States
April 24, 2013 1:21pm CST
Part of my feels as if this questions should be easy to answer. Part of my wants to tell my girlfriend that her boyfriend was seen out with his ex a few days ago but the other part of me doesn't want to be the one to open than Pandora box. She is my best friend and I believe that she should know but I don't think that coming out and just telling her is the way.Should I come out and tell her or should I let her find out on her own? Me personally I would want someone to inform me about my boyfriend cheating if they knew about it. I don't care if they had to hire a personal investigator, I think I would want to know.
11 responses
@Jyiou7 (83)
• Malaysia
24 Apr 13
Hmmm, I'm a little confused here... Is she your best friend or your girlfriend, as in you two are in love and in a relationship? If she isn't your lover, then I think it's okay to not open the Pandora's Box and probably it's best for her to find out herself. But if she is your girlfriend/lover and she already broke up with her past boyfriend, then it doesn't matter if her ex-boyfriend is seen with his ex-girlfriend because whatever he does should not matter to your girlfriend anymore. Hope that helps. :)
1 person likes this
• United States
24 Apr 13
I forgot we live in a world where the traditional word "girlfriend" no longer means best friend. There was a time when a woman said girlfriend, she was expressing a friendship. SMH. She is my girlfriend as in she is my best friend....
1 person likes this
@Jyiou7 (83)
• Malaysia
24 Apr 13
Oops, sorry for misunderstanding you. I took your term "Girlfriend" as in "Lover". That's why I got quite confused there. Anyway, thanks for making clear of the situation. :)
1 person likes this
@Alechin (217)
• Slovak Republic
25 Apr 13
Now I was confused at first too. I think you should definitely tell her. Its your sworn duty to do so. After all even a harsh truth is better than lies. I would definitely want to know if my girlfriend was cheating on me. Go and tell her, she might not even want to believe you at first, maybe even despise you a little, but int the end she will be grateful.
@Aja103654 (5646)
• Philippines
27 Apr 13
Well, you are not quite sure that the boyfriend is cheating, only you saw that he is talking with his ex. Maybe it would be better to ask first a hypothetical question? Like "If you see your friend's partner talking to his or her ex, would you tell your friend about it?" She'll get a clue. She can either answer that she wants to know or not. It's bad to jump to conclusions. it might have been just a harmless conversation between the two. Better yet, her boyfriend might have already told her about it so there is no point in keeping it secret. When I talk to my ex boyfriend I always tell my boyfriend about it right away and he understands.
@grvdubey11 (1879)
• India
25 Apr 13
Ofcourse you should tell her,that is what friendship is all about, helping each other.Actually if she finds how somehow that you knew that her boyfriend is unfaithful then she will feel bad ,may be she will be upset from you too.You will be doing a great favor to your friend if you tell her.Best wishes.
@jenny1015 (13366)
• Philippines
25 Apr 13
Before doing any drastic move, try to find out what is really going on with her boyfriend and his ex. If they are having a relationship, then maybe, you should talk to the guy first and ask him what really is going on and what as lead him to be doing it.
• United Kingdom
25 Apr 13
If this happens on me, I would rather my friend tell me first, but what she/he says should be based on the premise that my boyfriend and his ex have really did something that only lovers would do. Otherwise, I would oppugn and criticize my friend and our friendship may get suffered. So my suggestion is before you tell your best friend, you should investigate what the real relation between her boyfriend and his ex. Are they just pure friendship now? Or, you can inquire your best friend about the situation she have known about her boyfriend and the ex by means of a euphemism.
25 Apr 13
For me, If I'm in your situation, I will tell her. Yes it will hurt her a lot but think about if she marries that guy..
• Philippines
25 Apr 13
This type of subject should be treated with great care. You should not be blurting out unless you are definitely sure that the guy is cheating and that you have a concrete evidence. If you decided to tell the girl and you were denied by the guy, you are risking your friendship with your best friend. Hope this help
@jiiiiin (586)
• Philippines
25 Apr 13
I think you must tell your friend about what you know so that if your friend was being cheated by her boyfriend it will stop early.
• Singapore
25 Apr 13
In this case they are not married so this may not be relevant, but I have heard about cases where the wife knew the husband was cheating but pretended not to know, so friends who did not realise this and tell the wife actually ended up making the situation worse since she could no longer pretend. There was even a case where the friend saw the husband going to a hotel with a woman, called the wife to come quick and catch them, and was instead scolded by the wife for "cooking up lies to try to break up their happy marriage".
@Yunara (12)
• United States
24 Apr 13
Hi, I think you should tell her. The new will come as a shock and it will hurt her. But that will be minimal to her finding out on her own or her finding out that you knew. It's a bad situation no matter how you look at it. As her friend you can try to break the news kinda easy and be there for everything else. Plus, bad new always come a little better when it comes from a friend versus a complete stranger. Good Luck!
@cyjh21 (160)
• Philippines
25 Apr 13
If I were on your situation, I would tell her. What's the use of keeping it from when she'll come to know it sooner or later?? Yes, you'd hurt her feelings but it's better than prolonging the agony, as they say. Just try to imagine that your bestfriend is doing anything because of her beloved boyfriend while that guy is enjoying the time with someone else behind your bestfriend's back. How does it feel? But you better be sure of what you saw, confirm it first on my opinion. :)