If your spouse moves out and you have another relationship is it still considered adultery?

Answer 1

Back in the good old days when morals were more straight forward than they are now, adultery was when usually the man in the relationship was cheating on his spouse and it was grounds for a divorce when he was caught. Nowadays where divorce has become simpler, people like to live for the day, people want to be happy at any cost, people are not willing to sacrifice their lives etc adultery has become an old-fashioned word and it's now called cheating or swinging. Adultery is a word associated quite strongly with the church and is frowned upon by many. All that by way of background. You want to know if what you are doing is adultery. I think you don't want people to wag the finger and want to stake the moral high ground. Why did the spouse move out? If s/he left to carry on some other relationship, then people could hardly expect you to become a monk or nun or paragon of 'virtue'. Did the spouse leave because they were driven out by unreasonable behaviour? Are there children? In the final analysis, you have to do what you think is right. If the marriage has broken down and there is a de facto divorce then most people would say that the field is clear to continue your life. If you are religious you might want the marriage to be officially ended before becoming available. Having a relationship isn't in itself adultery - it's the sex which makes it adultery. Most of the above would probably not hold if you are muslim.