It's incredibly important to have quality relationships outside of your marriage or partnership. Without those friendships, we can feel lost, or we might miss out on the valuable advice only people outside of your relationship can give you. However, the lines can get blurred if you strike up a friendship with someone you could be attracted to while you're seriously dating someone else.
The most straightforward way to ensure fidelity is to set clear boundaries with your partner and with your friends about what lines you can or can't cross. It should start as a conversation with your partner before it becomes an issue, ideally. However, it's understandable if this isn't the first thing you want to talk about in your relationship, especially if it's a new one.
Great examples of boundaries could include not discussing topics like your sex life with other people, not hiding text messages from the other person from your partner, and not talking about your relationship issues with people you could be attracted to.
"People aren't really good at resisting temptation," said Gretchen Rubin, the creator of The Happiness Project in an interview with The Atlantic. "It's easier to have a rule that you just follow, so you're not constantly having to weigh circumstances." Rubin explained a list of rules one should follow to avoid having an office affair, where a lot of affairs first begin (via HuffPost). Among other rules, you should never take the first step in flirtation, and you should never confide personal details to an office mate.
