Relatives and obligations are all more present over the festive period.  Inundations of people you haven’t seen for ages and weren’t counting on; last minute rejuggling… These all result in last minute cancellations and complications for people who aren’t supposed to be seeing one another at all…?

How patient can you be with an affair partner over the festive season?  If you are reading from the USA then this includes Thanksgiving.  Specifically, we’ll look at the episode of Friends in which Rachel’s sister declared that there’s hardly any point in dating a married man.  How do affair partners make up for these absences? Yep, you’ll be bought something that cost more than the present gifted to the official ‘other half’. But there will have been expenditure! Ever seen Love Actually?  Is he part of her life in any real way?  Maybe - she certainly wants him to be.  Is the affair partner married too?  Potentially.  Is this something you never thought would never happen to you but more common than you ever imagined?  Certainly. I've genuinely heard this:

"You were messaging this person, then, on Christmas Day?!"  I’m afraid so.  Not much is sacred when you’re dividing your time carefully over the holidays…

In terms of the cast of characters, my friend, Sarah’s mum once advised her,

“Monogamy is overrated and forever is a long time.”

Polygamy is on the rise, in tune with open marriages.  But be careful what you wish for…

It's never what you think you suspect, it’s what you can prove.  Should you try to prove it (validation) or ignore it (avoidance)?  Because you won't stop it.  If you want to prove it, checking phones/laptops is low rent these days.  The mileage on the car is harder to manipulate.