Parenthood and Cheating

If you aren't caught up or aren't a fan of Parenthood {the show, not raising kids} then feel free to skip this post.

I'm here to write about why I'm Team Joel and have been since the very beginning.

I've seen a lot of hatred towards Joel on Twitter the past few weeks and I could not figure out why.  Julia cheated.  Julia lied about it.  So why is Joel the one everyone is blaming?

In my life, I believe marriage is forever.  When I pledged my love for Skip, I meant it until the of time, not just until things got hard.  I chose him to be my partner for life, which was not something I entered into lightly.  I truly meant it when I said the words for better or for worse.  Whatever life throws at us, we are going to work through together.

However, all that being said, if Skip were to cheat on me {and I include just kissing someone as cheating}, especially if he lied about it, I would be out there.  There are a lot of things I would work through in a marriage, but cheating, in any form is not one of them.  I would never be able to trust him again.  So on top of all the other valid reasons Joel laid out in last week's episode, I totally support his decision to move out and not be sure he wants to work things out.  Because I would be doing the same exact thing.

I wonder how people would feel if it was Joel who cheated.  Would people support him instead? I like that Parenthood had Julia be the one to cheat.  Statistically more men cheat than women, so this shows a less typical side to the situation.  It is also unfair that it seems when women cheat, they are forgiven, or looked on more favorably in society then men who cheat.  In my mind, women who cheat are no better than men who do the same.

So what are your thoughts on this story line.  Is cheating a deal breaker for you?  Are you Team Joel or Team Julia?  Did you opinion change after this week's episode and Julia's actions at the end?  Discuss!