Cheater or just a modern male?

Another day, another celebrity-cheating indiscretion being played out in the media. This time it's sports tycoon Tiger Woods who, up until now, has been known for his squeaky clean image as the doting hubby and ultimate family man.

Fast forward to today Woods is now being painted as a philandering cad who has been ensconced in numerous affairs (some lasting a whopping 31 months), someone who writes lewd text messages to women other than his wife ("I will wear you out ... when was the last time you got [bleeped]?" one message read) and engages in casual sex with random women around the world.

While he's admitted to his "transgressions" and has apologised on his website to his family and his fans, many are asking: was Tiger giving in to the male urge that affects so many men, or was he just plain dumb, wanting to eat his cake and have it too? ...

Of course being a celebrity super sportsman doesn't mean he's impervious to human foibles. Yet the debate is raging: should we be thinking "poor Tiger", or that he's low scum who shouldn't be given a second chance by his ex-model wife?

One comment in particular in the online chat rooms stuck a chord with many. The comment backs up the school of thought that men have it much harder than women when it comes to deflecting the advances of someone other than their partner and that men will be men when faced with the dilemma of giving in to the sexual advances of a hot, hot woman whether or not he's married.

"What this shows, and has shown forever, is the allure of 'another woman'," writes one man on a Yahoo! Chat forum. "Men with everything to lose, time and time again cannot resist the excitement and urges spurred by the possibilities of the flesh and mind. They all could have walked away instead of crawled into bed."

I recently wrote a story on how to tell if your partner is cheating, with one of my top reasons being that "if they're playing golf more than ever before at odd hours of the day or night then you know something is up". Of course this doesn't exactly pertain to Woods.

But in light of his recent cheating escapades, I thought I'd share with you other signs your partner might be cheating. And whether male urge or not, the question remains: should his wife forgive him, should she give him a second chance, and will he do it again if given the opportunity? Only time will tell...
Telltale signs your man is cheating:
* There are continual long, irrational absences.
* He is very guarded with his phone and spends insane amounts of time on his computer, often shielding the screen when you walk in the room.
* He starts working out vigorously and drastically changing his appearance.
* He becomes critical of everything you do.
* You find your man with condoms even though you don't use them together.
* You notice he often takes off his wedding ring.
* He has unusual bite marks or bruises on his body.
* He either don't want sex or has become way more adventurous than ever.
* You get prank calls by someone who keeps hanging up when you answer.
* He seems to have erratic mood swings ranging from loving to wanting space from you.
* He is disinterested in everything you say and do.
* He often showers, brushes his teeth or changes his clothes when he walks into the house.

All this raises another question, which often comes up on this column: is it ever OK to snoop on your partner? And if you find something, should you admit to snooping, or simply pretend that you're just curious as to who the heck this random person is who continually seems to be sending them text messages in the middle of the night?