What is 'micro-cheating' and have you ever done it in your relationship?

There’s a bewildering array of confusing dating trends that have sprung up recently, from ’stashing’ to ’breezing’ to ’submarining’ – and there’s now a new term to add to the ever-growing list: ‘micro-cheating’.

According to dating expert Melanie Schilling, who spoke to HuffPost Australia, ‘micro-cheating’ is “a series of seemingly small actions that indicate a person is emotionally or physically focused on someone outside their relationship.”

So, if you’ve been texting someone without telling your partner, saving someone in your phone under a fake name or lying about your relationship status to other people, it turns out you might have been ‘micro-cheating’.

Schilling says: “These are all signs that you are conducting a ‘covert flirtation’ and keeping it from your partner. If you feel you have something to hide, ask yourself why.”

This means that even though you might not have actually shared a snog or had full-blown sex with anyone, there are actually lots of small things you can do in your relationship that might be a sign you’re not really happy.

“Secrecy is the tell-tale sign,” Schilling says. “Micro-cheating is a subtle betrayal and it needs secrecy to fuel its fire.

If you suspect your partner might be engaging in ‘micro-cheating’, the dating expert says you should approach your other half with specific concerns that you’ve witnessed and explain how it made you feel. Of course, if you do decide to open up a painful, relationship can of worms, you also need to be prepared for your partner to tell you they’re just not that interested any more - and you could end up parting ways.

Have you ever micro-cheated on a partner? Tell us below:

And here’s a few other dating trends and what they mean:

1. Stashing

When someone stashes you away somewhere nobody in their life will ever see, meet or interact with you. This means they’re able to pretend they’re not really dating you.

2. Breezing

Being laid back and breezy – essentially being yourself without attaching any worry or stress to the relationship.

3. Kittenfishing

The phenomenon of well-intentioned dating app users presenting themselves in an unrealistically positive light. A kittenfisher’s profile is often comprised of photos that are outdated, heavily-filtered, or strategically angled or text that has been ghost-written by a particularly witty friend.

4. Submarining

Those annoying people who you begin to date, then suddenly ghost you, disappearing with no explanation; then, weeks or months later, they resurface in your DMs like nothing’s happened.

(Images: iStock)