Maura Higgins And Danny Jones’ Alleged Kiss Has Split Fans. But What Officially Counts As Cheating?

The Sun recently shared footage of former Love Islander Maura Higgins and ex-McFly member Danny Jones, which they claimed showed a “drunken kiss” between the pair at this year’s Brit Awards.

The clip outraged some fans, with one asking “How could he do this?”.

But some people don’t think the very blurry, pixelated clip gives a solid enough base for allegations of cheating.

Others think the fact that Maura, Danny, and Danny’s wife Georgia Horsely still follow one another on Instagram is proof the “peck” was “innocent”.

We might never know what actually went on (none of the three have spoken about the alleged incident since).

But it does raise a question we thought we’d bring to relationship expert and sexologist Sofie Roos and matchmaker Susan Trombetti ― what actually counts as cheating?

There’s more than one type of cheating

Trombetti told HuffPost UK: “There’s emotional cheating, physical cheating, and micro cheating.”

These are set by the boundaries that exist between the couple, which change from relationship to relationship.

“Micro-cheating” can involve something as small as liking a model’s Instagram pictures, Roos says.

These “grey areas” are the ones you should be more vocal about ― “while most people agree that sleeping with someone else is considered cheating, it’s often the small things you think differently about, so those are most important to talk through.”

If you’re not sure whether something like a peck crosses an unspoken line, Trombetti says: “Anytime lying and secrets are involved, that’s a good indicator there is cheating.”

“The act of intimacy counts as cheating whether it’s physical or emotional with the exception of open relationships,” she adds.

“Intimacy can be emotional or physical and that’s why emotional affairs can be devastating. It doesn’t matter if you are physical or not.”

So… was the ‘kiss’ cheating?

The intent behind the action is what matters most, both experts agree.

“Cheating is cheating as established by the boundaries you both have stated… It’s called trust,” Trombetti told us.

If your partner knows they wouldn’t like you to do what they’re doing, that’s a sign their intent isn’t to benefit the relationship.

As the matchmaker said, though, we don’t know what the rules or intent between Danny Jones and wife Georgia were, or even what really happened between the I’m A Celeb contestants.

So unless we hear otherwise from the people involved, we can’t call it cheating, even if it’s something we wouldn’t be happy with.

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Strictly’s Giovanni Pernice And Love Island’s Maura Higgins Confirm Romance

Strictly Come Dancing professional Giovanni Pernice and former Love Island contestant Maura Higgins have finally confirmed rumours they are dating.

The pair went Instagram official on Friday evening, as they both shared loved-up snaps with their followers.

Maura, who appeared on the 2019 series of Love Island, posted a photo of them embracing by the sea, captioning the photo: “I’m yours” and adding a love heart emoji.

Giovanni, who has appeared as a dancer on Strictly since 2015, posted a similar photo and wrote: “You’re mine.”

The pair had been linked in the press in recent weeks, following Maura’s split from fellow Love Islander Chris Taylor

Earlier this week, she shared a photo on her Instagram Stories showing her holding the hand of an unknown man at dinner, prompting her followers to speculate that it was Giovanni’s.

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