As we have all seen over the course of the past few weeks, the Internet can get some of us in big trouble. Sure, it provides us easy access to friends, family, business opportunities, etc., but easy access can be a perilous temptation when in the wrong hands.
Lawmaker Anthony Weiner has taken up a significant amount of time in the news recently because of a Twitter problem. The congressman has admitted to posting and sending sexual photos of himself to various women via the social media outlet. The scandal and his admission have the public wondering, will his newly-pregnant wife Huma Abedin want to get a divorce? Will she consider this cheating?
While Weiner has publically confessed to taking and sending intimate pictures of himself to women other than his wife, who is an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he has not admitted to engaging in a physical extra-marital affair. Some critics argue that though an actual affair might not have taken place, “sexting” and other Internet-related flirting is cheating.
Weiner’s wife has not come forward to comment on the infamous Twitter pics or her husband’s admission. One source reports that a source close to Abedin says she has no intention of leaving her husband. But it is still relatively early in the lifetime of this story, and it’s difficult not to wonder how much public embarrassment a wife can take.
In a Times Live report, a relationship professional supports the idea that Abedin might not want a divorce as a result of the Twitter pictures. For some couples, using the Internet to virtually play out sexual fantasies is a safe way to avoid straying from a marriage. Another source, a clinical sexologist, suggests, however, that if Abedin did not know about her husband’s Internet activity, a significant amount of trust might have been lost, making divorce a tempting option.
This case is sure to remain in the headlines for some time, and we will post an update should there be any news regarding the couple’s future as a family. Until then, please feel free to share your thoughts about this case and whether you would want a divorce if you were Weiner’s wife. Would you consider flirting via the Internet an affair?
Source
Times Live: “Is ‘sexting’ the new-age version of infidelity?” Shanthini Naidoo, 12 Jun. 2011