What would you if you suspected your girlfriend was cheating on you? A friend of mine often brings an interesting approach to situations like this, so before putting together my response, I tried to imagine what he would do. Being the type of no-nonsense guy that he is, I found it hard to see him being in that situation in the first place, but I pushed through and came up with what I thought would be his response. Then I asked him.

"I can let my feelings go pretty easily if necessary," he said. "If I was pretty sure she was cheating but didn't have confirmed information, I would probably behave as if she was cheating and solve the problem like I would any other: make it work in the way that benefits me most."

"How would you do that?" I asked him.

"I guess I'd just try to continue sleeping with her as long as I could, and in the meantime start looking elsewhere. If she cheats, I can cheat. It would quickly fall apart, of course, but I would no longer be emotionally involved."

But what if you were so disgusted or hurt that you couldn't stand to be with her anymore?

"Even if I wasn't 100% sure, I'd probably opt for a pre-emptive breakup, or tell her that we needed to spend time apart--if I really cared about her. That way, if she really cares and was cheating (or even if she wasn't and was feeling unsure about the relationship), she can see what she's missing. If she was cheating and wanted to end it, at least now it's over with less fuss."

In the past, this friend has told me that he feels that once he considers himself uninvolved emotionally, he considers the relationship over. (It's important to note that it would take something like cheating to push him away from a relationship emotionally.)

This was about what I expected, and not a bad template for how to handle cheating for those who can detach themselves from their feelings for the cheater.