Is there such a thing as weaponized honesty in relationships?

Keeping big secrets from your significant other is a sure-fire way to create major relationship problems down the line. Racking up massive debts, having an affair, or even hiding a secret family is exactly the kind of thing that sparks the kinds of bitter breakups and divorces that nobody wants to experience. Those things that you swear will never get found out may well be discovered eventually.

At the same time, many couples would argue that there is sometimes such a thing as being too candid with one another. Just because somebody is your partner doesn’t mean that they have to know about every last thing that you do or think. This, too, can lead to arguments, and usually the avoidable kind. Most of us don’t want to have a dispute that doesn’t need to happen if we can just keep our mouths shut.

Still, these kinds of interactions can sometimes tell us something important about the person we are dating. It may be an indicator of a red flag that we would miss otherwise, and show us what things are going to be like further down the line.