Women have always been seen in society as the faithful companions, true to their partner, and one who would never stray. It was such a taboo for a woman to consider stepping out on her partner. You always heard about the poor woman who's husband or boyfriend cheated on her with another woman, but more and more lately, women are becoming just as likely to cheat on their spouses as men. No longer is infidelity a man's crime, the only difference is that many times, the reasons men stray and women stray are completely different.

As young girls grow up, they are surrounded by visions and stories of these fairy tales where the poor young woman is mistreated then rescued and taken away to live happily ever after by a handsome Prince. These stories are etched into our heads and remain there as we grow into adults. As teenagers, it is these fairy tale stories of the knight in shining armor that encourage young women to believe that this is how real love should feel and be. As we grow older, we eventually learn that there is no knight in shining armor, and that our prince charming is just a normal guy with faults like everyone else. As the relationship moves forward, as with many relationships, a comfort sets in and things can become dull or feel as though the spark is barely there. It is during these times that many women began to fantasize about those fairy tale love stories, longing for it to happen to them.

Unfortunately, these feelings can result in a woman being easily swayed when she meets another man. With the online world booming, social networking sights becoming widely used by people from all over the world looking to connect with others, it presents a growing problem in relationships - cyber affairs. It becomes very easy for a woman to begin socializing with a man online through one of the many games or networking sights out there. When a woman is dealing with this fairy tale syndrome, still holding onto the hope that Prince Charming is out there looking for her, it becomes very easy for her to meet someone especially online and begin to believe he is the man she's been searching for. I have known 2 women whom have fallen victim to this "fairy tale" belief upon connecting with someone online.

Each of the women I know of were all involved in marriages for a long time and there was concern about the relationship not having that same spark as it once did. It was very easy for these men online to begin talking sweetly, seeming very caring and loving, and with time, as conversations continued, feelings developed quickly. As women with the whole "happily ever after" idea burnt into our minds, we begin to wonder if this guy online is our Prince Charming. He is everything that our spouse is not, and he says all of the right words, there is that spark and growing attraction, and the fairy tale begins to overpower our better judgement.

In the case of two of my friends, they both left their husbands, one brought the online love to live with her and they were married, then divorced a year later. The other friend took off leaving her children and husband behind, she went to live with her much younger lover and married him, only to divorce him less then a year later. She moved back near her husband and children, and even attempted to reconcile with him, unfortunately for her, he would not take her back after the betrayal. I was lucky, my husband was willing to forgive me and try to make our marriage work, but I know that he still will never forget how I hurt and betrayed him so willingly. The third friend actually knew the man she believed to be her Prince Charming, he was her best friends husband of 12 years. What started as innocent talks and flirting became something much more intimate and they both left their spouses, destroying two marriages and friendships in the process, to be together. They were married soon after, and while they are still married today, 3 years later, they are both unhappy and fighting constantly over kids, affairs, and money.

It's because of this constant fairy tale that is etched into a woman's mind as a young child and through the years growing up that we become such easy victims of these men who seem like our Prince Charming when our current relationships grow dull. Each time we believe that we've found our Knight to come rescue us from our life of difficulties, each time we risk our relationships for the excitment and the happily ever after, and most times, it is far from happy. Many fairy tales now are starting to portray women as strong and confident, less like a poor helpless victim waiting for a man to rescue her, but there are still those classic stories that we all hear growing up and stay with us in the hopes of finding our own Prince and Happily ever after. So if you are a woman, and find yourself beginning to think that you have found your Prince in a man other then your spouse, remember that when you first met your spouse, you had the same feelings of excitment and infatuation. Remember that things are not always what they seem to be, the grass is not always greener. Most importantly, take a long hard look inside of your heart and ask yourself if you really want to risk your stable relationship because of some unatainable idea of having a happily ever after that is only real in fairy tales.