Should you stay with a mate that has cheated on you?
That's the question Jada Pinkett Smith addressed in a Facebook post on Thursday. Given that she and husband Will Smith are notorious for their are-they-or-aren't-they "open relationship", it's an interesting subject for her to tackle -- and the post has nearly 10,000 likes, and counting.
Here's how Smith answered the question, with one caveat -- she is not referring to habitual cheaters:
This is a very personal choice, and there is no right or wrong answer. If your partner is remorseful and is willing to work it out, I would suggest trying to look at it from this vantage point. My observation has been that when most people cheat, they are trying to solve a problem. They are usually in some kind of emotional trouble or confusion that they believed the cheating would relieve. What's interesting is that most of the time the cheating has nothing to do with YOU. Now the question becomes, are you willing to put all ego aside and reach for some deep compassion to try to figure out what the trouble is, and, as partners, try to solve it? Know this, if someone has cheated on you who truly loves you, they have hurt themselves as much as they have hurt you. This makes for a great opportunity to deepen the relationship with thorough honesty, which creates deeper respect with some serious setting of boundaries. This is also when love gets real and true and illuminates what you are made of as a couple and as individuals. Situations like these could be the windows to a deeper commitment OR... to two separate paths on the way to look for new partners. Only the unique nature of your specific relationship can be the telling factor. Is he or she worth it?
Interesting! Do you agree with her take?
It's not the first time Pinkett Smith has tackled touchy topics on her Facebook page. Earlier this month, she posted advice on what to do if you have an unsupportive family, and another Facebook status on how to handle heartbreak, which generated nearly 20,000 likes. But perhaps her most controversial Facebook status was one in which she addressed her and Will's reported "open" marriage.
"Will and I BOTH can do WHATEVER we want, because we TRUST each other to do so," she wrote on April 14. "This does NOT mean we have an open relationship...this means we have a GROWN one."
That post generated nearly 175,000 likes and over 21,000 comments.
The pair married in 1997 and have two children together. Will Smith also has one son from a previous marriage.
Click through the slideshow below for more on the Smiths' marriage and other celebrities rumored to be in open relationships.
