From The Straits Times    |

Photo: Shutterstock

1. Communicate!
One of the main building blocks of marriage is communication. It may not be immediate, but suppressed unhappiness can cause cracks in your marriage. This is when a husband may seek solace from someone outside of the marriage – known to lead to both emotional or physical cheating. 

Tip: A healthy marriage should be one where both sides are open with each other – where they talk to each other if there are issues either party is unhappy about.

2. Keep your passion burning
Sex with your husband should always be just as hot and steamy as it was when you first exchanged yours vows. Both of you should be committing to keep the passion alive in your marriage. According to this site, the most commonly cited cause of infidelity is sexual dissatisfaction. 

Tip: If you are stuck in a sexual rut, it’s time to spice things up! When a wife initiates sex, it is very arousing to a man. So slip on your raciest set of lingerie, and make wild, passionate love all night. For more creative ideas on how to have a sizzling time in bed, see our editor Steve Thio’s must-see tips, here.

3. Stay affectionate
You should never let your affection wane for your partner. In an interview with The New Paper, The Counselling Paradigm’s founder and lead counsellor Willy Ho says, “If this love is somehow not found or displayed at home, sometimes people want to go out and search for it despite the risks involved.”

Tip: Always be as attentive – and loving – to them as you were when you first started dating!

4. Affirm him 
Knowing that he is significant in your life is also important to your husband. M.Gary Neuman from PsychCentral found that 48 per cent of the men he interviewed cited emotional dissatisfaction – feeling unappreciated and that their efforts are unrecognised – as the primary reason for cheating. 

Tip: Compliment your husband once in a while. Hearing words of affirmation from the most important woman in his life will certainly boost his ego, and he will feel confident about himself – and your marriage. 

5. Your husband should also be your best friend 
Your man should not only be your husband, but also your best friend. Make it a point to never turn against each other in tough situations. In the same interview with The New Paper, Marriage counsellor Chang-Goh Song Eng says, “Nobody enters a marriage with the intention to stray. That’s why we say people slide into an affair,”

“You get into a friendship which provides a listening ear, comfort and admiration. It distracts and diverts your attention from unpleasantness, like coldness or conflicts at home”

Tip: Mutually support and understand each other – instead of being at war with each other. Of course arguments are inevitable in a marriage, but solve your differences quickly and never argue for too long. 

6. Leave the nagging to his mother
Nagging can be a destructive habit to your husband. As we’ve mentioned, remember that you are his support system. So when you beat him up, you can throw him into an emotional turmoil with nowhere to turn to. This may drive him away – and into the tender arms of another woman. 

Tip: You should be treating your husband as an equal, not a child. See other ways on acting like your partner’s wife and not his mother here.

Disclaimer: Just so you know, we are definitely not justifying a husband’s cheating ways. Cheating is a breach of trust in a marriage and is never okay! These are just tips you can follow for a healthy, happy marriage – away from evil temptations.