During the life of your relationship you will find that there are various phases that you will have to endure if you want the relationship to last. And hopefully each phase will result in a stronger and healthier bond. But it is possible that at some point your partner will be interested in someone else.

Clues vary from one person or couple to the next. It could be that your mate will seem to be distant or less interested in you and the relationship. In order to spend time with the new person your mate may come up with excuses as to why he or she will not be home when expected.

You may hear stories about working late or stops that have to be made before coming home. This provides your partner with time to spend with the new interest.

For some people an obvious give away can be that he or she is suddenly very concerned about appearance or quite simply, they want to look good. They may suddenly seem to be dressing to impress others. But to be on the safe side you should not jump to conclusions.

Self improvement is a good thing and some people can be inspired to take better care of themselves because they have read a book or even seen a television show related to the topic. Another possibility is that looking better at work has been made a requirement of the job.

If you notice that your partner gets a lot of text messages or phone calls that he or she takes away from your ear-shot then you may have reason to suspect that there is something going on. I suggest that you become aware of such behavior and ask your mate about it.

But remember that accusations will not solve anything. Start with an explanation of your concerns. Be able to describe what has happened that has you concerned. Be open to what your partner has to say. Give him or her the freedom to tell you what is going on and to justify any suspicious behavior.

But you need to be prepared to hear some things that you will not like. Compose yourself and be ready for the discussion to have a wonderful ending or one that is very disturbing. Either way you should feel some relief at the ending of your curiosity.

Most of us know our partners well enough to realize when something is amiss. Plus we can usually tell when our mate is not being totally honest with us. Trust your instincts but do not jump to conclusions too quickly.