Cheating on one’s partner is considered one of the most heinous marital crimes, yet many cuckolded spouses decide to remain with their errant other half. There are several reasons for this – but probably the most common is to keep the family together for the sake of the children.

Tiger Woods’ wife, Elin, is thought to be sticking with her philandering husband, despite the fact he’s said to have had many mistresses over several years. She was photographed with him recently as he attempts to address his behaviour in a rehabilitation unit. The couple have two young children together and it is widely believed Elin hasn’t walked away from the marriage because of them.

However, even as Woods is working to repair his damaged relationship with his wife, four of the women with whom he’s been linked came back to haunt him this week. They are featured nude or semi-nude in a 14-page article in Vanity Fair magazine – headlined “The Temptation of Tiger Woods” – which sheds fresh light on the golfer’s serial womanising.

Elin Woods may not see the magazine, but media interest in her husband’s affairs is unlikely to go away for a long while to come. So even if she is able to forgive him, she is unlikely to be able to forget.

And that is one of the problems with opting to stay with a partner who has betrayed your trust by sleeping with someone else. However hard you try to understand and forgive what happened, being able to put the episode (or episodes) behind you is less easy.

You may never bump into the person your partner bedded, but walking past a restaurant you know they visited together or hearing a song on the radio that was popular when you discovered the infidelity can – even many years down the line – bring the horrible memories flooding back.

There is also the issue of trust to consider: if your spouse dallied when he or she was away from home on business, it is likely always to be difficult when they have to go away on business in the future. Tiger Woods is preparing to resume his career by playing in the US Masters in Augusta: how will Elin feel when he jets off?

Staying with an errant spouse is often the “right” thing to do, but those who decide to go down this path need to think carefully about what it means in the long term. Being able to forgive is one thing, but being able to move on in a meaningful way, without being eaten up by resentment, is quite another.

It is important, therefore, to think carefully about how you will feel months, maybe years down the line when a physical reminder of what happened jumps out and surprises you. Many people can handle it – but many more can’t, which is why we often see clients who can no longer live with a partner who cheated on them many years before.