There are many reasons that people cheat, and usually sex and money are two things that are high on the list of reasons for someone to step outside of their relationship. I’m taking a step back in advising you on how to get beyond the hurt of finding out your partner, straight or gay, has cheated on you. When you get wrapped up in the emotions of love, there usually isn’t a conversation about money.

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I sat at the round table with two other women, one engaged and the other a newlywed. The engaged, let's call her Samantha, explains to Amanda (newlywed) and myself that she believes that 90% of men cheat. Amanda, having dealt with her own share of infidelity issues with her now husband, agreed with Samantha's notion. I began to share my personal beliefs on the matter, but before I share them with you, let me preface it with the fact that I am a mathematician, and I tend to think mathematically, using logic to make decisions, and most often than not, ignoring the emotional side of decision making.

The Perfect Guide to a Healthy and Happy Relationship is written by No Author, from Anywhere in the world. Sadly. Wouldn’t that be nice to have a Table of Contents like that at your fingertips when needed? Not knowing the right thing to say, so you look it up! Or a whole chapter called "What Are Women Really Thinking?" Sadly these grand pages of wisdom don’t exist. Well, that’s not entirely true. There are plenty of books on relationships, the psychology and genetic makeup of the male and female brain, etc. But if you have ever read any of those books, as I have, you’ll quickly learn in your own relationship that everything is a hit or miss. Some things mentioned about women are true, some false. Same for men; some facts and behaviors are true, others false. Then how do you know what to follow? How do you navigate? How do you figure out how not to screw it up? Well, let’s not fool ourselves, you’re going to screw up a little - it’s inevitable.

Blind dates, Tinder or Bumble matches, however you meet your potential partner, it’s important that you plan a first date that keeps you safe. But labelling a date as ‘safe’ isn’t exactly going to get the spark going is it? Never have I been excited for a date because of the prospect of how safe it is. We want fun, chemistry, and a smidge of romance, but also the chance to make an escape if we feel like we need to, or if the date is just going so horrible you would rather stick pins in your eyes. It's ok, we’ve all been there. Jokes aside though, it is really important when you’re meeting someone new for the first time that you take some precautions – you are meeting a complete stranger after all.

The great advantage of online dating is that it gives single men and women the chance to find a partner just by sitting at their PCs. Dating websites have helped thousands of people unite together across the globe, but that doesn’t mean finding love online is easy.

We all know that line from the very famous song by Christina Aguilera, "What a girl wants, what a girl needs, whatever makes me happy and sets you free..." And let me tell you (guys out there), it will set you free. Free from guessing, free from drama and like husband likes to say, free from the emotional roller coaster.

Did you know that it takes most victims 7 times to leave an abusive or toxic relationship?

Love. Love is a crazy, scary, wonderful work of art. In our society, real love is hard to come by. Love comes in the most unexpected ways and it can come when you are least expecting it. When you love someone, you would do anything to see them smile, or hear them laugh. You want to be happy, but you also want them to be happy. It's time for a story. The first guy I ever dated that I actually count as dating would be what I thought was my first love. It was love for what I thought it was, but I was wrong. He started out as sweet and loving and loyal and caring, and everything I thought I wanted, but it wasn't after awhile. I realized he only wanted one thing, which I thought was okay. I was only fifteen at the time, so I didn't know any better, but now I do, and I know what I want out of a man/future husband. After one year and three months I found out he had been cheating on me for two weeks, and I was heartbroken. I didn't get out of bed, slept all day, didn't do my school work, barely ate, and didn't really take care of myself. I believe everything happens for a reason, so I believe that relationship was meant to end, so my current partner who I see as my entire future, and wouldn't know what to do if I lost him, could come into my life. After the break up of about one year and seven months I can say that I am finally better, and in a happy, healthy, and loving relationship. I met him when I was working at my local Dollar General. I was on register two, and it was around four in the afternoon. He came in to the store in jeans and a plain t-shirt. He looked at me, and for a moment I thought I saw my life flash in pretty colors. I rang up the customer that I was doing, and told him have a nice day. He came up and I rang him up for sour patch and monster energy. He told me to keep the receipt. Later that night, his step-mom came in while I was unboxing Cheez-Itz, and putting them on the shelf. She asked me if I was Rosa (that's my name), and I told her yes, very confused. She said her son was interested in me, and wanted my number. I rang her up a couple of minutes later and she gave me his number. I texted him at around midnight, and he was surprisingly awake. I called him and we talked into the wee hours of the morning. I realized after talking to him he was serious about me and our relationship. Now, you may wonder how I knew that he was serious about me, right? Well, the first part that captured me was he was very easy to talk to, he said don't question me with a good time, and he was (and still is) very gentle. Second, was the way he texted, and I could tell it was from the heart and not copy and paste kind of text. Third, was what he did a couple of days later when he officially asked me to be his girlfriend. After about three days of talking, he came into the store that I was working at (Dollar General), and while I was ringing him up he said to me, word for word, "I know I haven't formally asked you, but will you be my girlfriend?" I told him yes and kissed him. Fast forward a little over five months, and I have a promise ring, a future, and an amazing boyfriend who I love with everything in me, and who I will be living with in February after I get my license, and drive down to Georgia to get a car. I am counting down the days until I get to live with my future husband and future father.

I am a raging introvert. I don’t mean “angry,” just that it is a huge part of my being. This comes with some qualifications, however. I can get up in front of an audience and make a presentation; I even sing and play the keyboard with a praise band at my church. But put me in a social situation in which I have to reach out to individual strangers? Can’t do it. Give me a choice of going to a party where I know almost nobody or staying at home in my PJ’s and TV? The PJ’s win every time.

Pictures are worth a thousand words... or in some cases, a thousand dollars. At least that’s how it was for my first date with Jacob*. He and I had matched on Hinge and messaged me saying that he’d noticed the hang-gliding picture I had on my profile and wanted to know if I’d like to go skydiving on our first date. I was intrigued, and, having previously said yes to a total stranger who was willing to drive me to a remote area, I said I would be interested (If you read my first piece, you know that adventurous dates don’t necessarily equal a stellar guy, but here we are). So, he booked and paid for the skydiving and we began texting.

If I were you, I would avoid playing some kind of games like Sophie and Julien do in Jeux d'enfants. However, I would definitely watch that movie. I would also try to read The Most Relevant Dating Guide to play The Fair Game, just because you know, it is nice to be the winner sometimes. Oh wait... here it is: