08/27/2026
The law recently changed, and post-separation is no longer recognized as a cause of action. It is still, though, a crime in Virginia. Probably even more importantly than that, since adultery is rarely criminally prosecuted, is whether post-separation adultery will still be an absolute bar to .
Adultery is always tricky because it’s a hard thing to prove. And, to some extent, it doesn’t even matter if you’ve technically committed “adultery,” because – if he suspects you have – he can take you to court and it’ll be up to the judge to decide. Working through the legal process is considered a right, so, if he litigates and tries to prove that the relationship you had amounted to adultery, well, that’s just how the system was designed to operate.
For you, you’ll have to go to court right there with him and defend yourself – whether you didn’t date anyone at all, or whether it was just dinner and he never came home for “dessert” hardly matters. When you have a spousal support case, you ALREADY have a case where there’s an uneven distribution of earning power. So, he can likely outspend you to make sure you don’t get the spousal support you would otherwise be entitled to. And, win or lose, you still have all the legal fees associated with your case. So, for you, it’s kind of lose-lose. He may lose, too, in the sense that it costs him money to litigate, but it won’t cost him as much, relatively speaking, and it may even benefit him because he may put you in a position so expensive you won’t be able to afford to defend yourself, even if his allegations are entirely untrue.
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Representing women exclusively in divorce, custody, and support with locations in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and Newport News.
