Maura Higgins And Danny Jones' Alleged Kiss Divides Fans Amid Debate On What Counts As Cheating

The Sun recently shared footage of former Love Islander Maura Higgins and ex-McFly member Danny Jones, which they claimed showed a “drunken kiss” between the pair at this year’s Brit Awards.

The clip outraged some fans, with one asking “How could he do this?”.

But some people don’t think the very blurry, pixelated clip gives a solid enough base for allegations of cheating.

Others think the fact that Maura, Danny, and Danny’s wife Georgia Horsely still follow one another on Instagram is proof the “peck” was “innocent”.

We might never know what actually went on (none of the three have spoken about the alleged incident since).

But it does raise a question we thought we’d bring to relationship therapist, author at Passionerad, and sexologist Sofie Roos, and matchmaker Susan Trombetti ― what actually counts as cheating?

There’s more than one type of cheating 

Trombetti told HuffPost UK: “There’s emotional cheating, physical cheating, and micro cheating.”

These are set by the boundaries that exist between the couple, which change from relationship to relationship.

“Micro-cheating” can involve something as small as liking a model’s Instagram pictures, Roos says.

These “grey areas” are the ones you should be more vocal about ― “while most people agree that sleeping with someone else is considered cheating, it’s often the small things you think differently about, so those are most important to talk through.” 

If you’re not sure whether something like a peck crosses an unspoken line, Trombetti says: “Anytime lying and secrets are involved, that’s a good indicator there is cheating.” 

“The act of intimacy counts as cheating whether it’s physical or emotional with the exception of open relationships,” she adds. 

“Intimacy can be emotional or physical and that’s why emotional affairs can be devastating. It doesn’t matter if you are physical or not.”

So… was the ‘kiss’ cheating?

The intent behind the action is what matters most, both experts agree. 

“Cheating is cheating as established by the boundaries you both have stated… It’s called trust,” Trombetti told us. 

If your partner knows they wouldn’t like you to do what they’re doing, that’s a sign their intent isn’t to benefit the relationship. 

As the matchmaker said, though, we don’t know what the rules or intent between Danny Jones and wife Georgia were, or even what really happened between the I’m A Celeb contestants.

So unless we hear otherwise from the people involved, we can’t call it cheating, even if it’s something we wouldn’t be happy with.