Smriti Mandhana's fiancé Palash Muchhal blamed long distance relationship for his alleged flirty texts; Is that a fair excuse?

The screenshots were shared, but removed from social media soon thereafter. The date of the conversation couldn't be ascertained from the texts. From the conversation, it is clear that Muchhal texts are flirty in nature. One thing really stood out from the conversation. When the girl allegedly asked him if he gets to see Smriti everyday, the latter replied, "Don't ask re. Long distance. Literally sucks!!! We meet like once in 3 to 5 months and "that's the problem"."

What one can infer from Muchhal text is that somewhere he is hitting on other woman, because he's in a long distance relationship with Smriti. Come to think of it, if it is really true, then what does it speak about Muchhal? Moneycontrol's team spoke to relationship expert Ruchi Ruuh to understand if being in a long distance relationships really justifies an individual cheating on their partner.

"Absolutely not! Long distance relationships don't mean that an individual will cheat on someone and later justify it too. In fact, both emotional and physical infidelity is a big no no," she shared, adding that a lot of people often cheat in long-distance relationships, because the emotional or physical gap feels easier to fill with someone who is near to them.

Long distance can make a relationship harder but it doesn’t automatically give someone permission to cross the established boundaries of the relationship. In fact long-distance relationships thrive on clarity, communication, and accountability.

Also read: Love-loreing: A dating trend that prioritises making connections instead of obsessing over future

"If the alleged chats are real, then clearly it is not the distance problem, it is a choice that Muchhal has made. People don’t cheat because they’re far away, they cheat because they either lack the willingness or the courage to communicate with their partner about what’s missing in their relationship," Ruuh concluded.