SILLY PET SELFIE

“As soon as he hears the rattle of plates, knives and forks, my son’s dog Tulo is always first to the table. I can’t resist when he looks at me with this sad face,” says Pamela Partridge from Whitchurch, Cardiff.

Dear Coleen

I’ve been with my boyfriend for four years and we are happy, in fact he’s been talking a lot lately about us getting married, although there’s been no official proposal.

However, a couple of years ago, our relationship hit a rough patch. He was working a lot and pretty stressed, and I felt side-lined and ended up having a short-lived affair, which was only about sex and nothing else.

The thing is, with all this talk of marriage, I feel guilty about the affair and also worried that I might be tempted to cheat again if I’m bored or things get tough for us.

Should I feel confident about committing to marriage?

I’m driving myself mad thinking about it.

Coleen says

I don’t necessarily believe in “once a cheat, always a cheat” because people can and do change.

However, if you’re having doubts about marriage, then I think you need to be honest with yourself and honest with him. And if you genuinely think you might cheat again if the circumstances were “right”, then maybe your partner isn’t the one for you long term.

If things get tough or you feel bored, seeking light relief in an affair isn’t going to make for a happy marriage.

Marriage is about coming through things together, communicating and supporting each other. Inevitably, life will throw up challenges and you have to ride the storm together.

No you go ahead and eat… I’ll just sit here and starve!