A TikTok posted by @ulovelailahakim on August 7 lists behaviors the creator, Laila Hakim, considers cheating, speaking from her own perspective as a woman while saying the standards apply to both partners. The video had drawn more than 314,000 likes and 3,500 comments as of publication.
She opens by rejecting pushback in advance, saying, "Don't justify being unloyal [sic]," and dismissing the idea that objecting to certain behaviors reflects insecurity rather than a proper boundary.
Laila's first example involves sending direct messages, or "snapping," random women while in a relationship, which she calls an obvious violation, asking, "Do I even need to elaborate?"
Her second cue is repeatedly viewing a stranger's profile, saying she feels sympathy for the girlfriends of men she notices doing this, adding, "That's embarrassing. Don't embarrass your girlfriend."
@ulovelailahakim here the unloyal hos come to fight in my comments #fyp #foryou #relateable
♬ original sound - Laila hakim
She lists deleting messages as her third example, questioning why anyone would need to delete a conversation unless it was spam, adding, "Use your brain." She clarifies she is not referring to messages with family members, saying, "I don't give a f--- about your sister's text," but rather conversations with unfamiliar texts from random people.
The fourth instance on her list is continuing to talk to someone who has previously expressed romantic interest in the said partner, which she calls "disgusting," telling viewers to "get out of here" with that behavior. Her fifth example was liking other women's posts, particularly photos she described as more suggestive than a "dog picture," adding that she believed most women shared her view.
Her sixth example was entertaining conversation from someone at a bar without disclosing having a partner, which she said should be met with a firm refusal.
Her final example is maintaining a "work girlfriend," which she says would require "a long sit down conversation" with her own partner if they ever had one.
Commenters debated where the line fell between disrespectful behavior and cheating itself. One wrote, "So if liking a girls bikini pic is cheating would posting a bikin pic be cheating?"
Another argued that attraction expressed by a partner toward other people, even without physical involvement, should count as cheating. They wrote, "Someone's gotta agree with me here, if she is looking at other guys abs, biceps, back muscles, in an attractive way. THAT IS CHEATING."
A different commenter offered a narrower definition of cheating, distinguishing it from behavior that is simply inappropriate. They wrote, "cheating means kissing, having sex or being involved romantically with someone else. other things are disrespectful and shouldnt be done while in a relationship but that doesn't mean its cheating. [sic]"
Another argued the key distinction was whether attraction was acted upon or expressed, writing, "I definitely think that it's a natural response to find someone attractive but if you act on it or verbally say it to your partner that's 100% cheating."
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the personal opinions or experiences referenced in this video. The details above reflect the TikTok creator's video and its accompanying comments as shared on TikTok.
