Just curious as to others would handle this basic situation:
If one of your best friends has a wife or husband who is rumored to be cheating on your friend - sex cheating. You are told this by an individual who is one step removed from the cheating spouse (claims to have heard it directly from cheating spouse). What do you do if anything?
Assume that friend and spouse have and still appear to love each other, be stable in their relationship, otherwise function as if no cheating has occurred, and the source has no apparent reason for confiding such horrible things other than concern for the well-being of the couple in question.
As ever,
ACE
How/if to proceed depends a great deal on how credible your "source" is. Just 'cause someone SAYS it's so doesn't mean it IS...
You are screwed six ways from Thursday no matter what you do now.
Don’t tell friend, he wonders if you knew, and if so, why didn’t you tell him?
Don’t tell friend, and you are wracked with guilt that eats you up inside.
Don’t tell friend, and he eventually finds out on his own and wonders why you weren’t there for him.
You tell friend, and he gets angry with you for knowing, and blabbing, or accusing.
You tell friend, and they split, then later reconcile, and he is forced to ostracize you for knowing, or it is just too uncomfortable to be with them together.
Tell spouse you know, and she accuses you of lying and drives a wedge between you and friend.
Tell spouse you know, and she throws herself at you, causing friend to get angry at you, not her.
There’s no way out. You are circling the drain of this friendship.
If you’re lucky, they’ll buy your “play dumb” act, and you can somehow tell them through a third party that can’t be traced back to you.
