Hi everyone! First of all, I’m not sure if this is the right sub as it is technically about my break up, but I am asking for advice on future relationships/dating going forward. Sorry if this is not the right sub! I (22F) am ~5 months out of an almost 3 year relationship with my ex (22F). We broke up for reasons different than this, but after getting out of the relationship, she admitted to me that she had been emotionally cheating on me for the last ~2 years of our relationship (physical cheating has never been confirmed nor denied, but I am suspicious that it may have occurred). This hurt because when we were together I had asked her several times if she had been entertaining/flirting with other people and she always firmly denied it and gaslit me. Overall, she was very manipulative of me by dismissing my feelings, hiding things from me, etc. and I am still grappling with the fact that my therapist has deemed this emotional abuse. I am posting here because while I am not currently dating/interested in anyone, I am scared of dating again. I see so many Reddit stories of people who are allegedly in amazing long-term relationships and marriages and then one partner randomly cheats one day and the OP’s world crumbles before them. I know cheating is common and I can’t do anything to stop the person I am with from cheating on me and that I just have to trust my gut better next time and leave sooner, but I am still so scared to go into another relationship because in my mind I can and will be cheated on again. I was hoping that anyone who went through something similar to me but is now in a happy and loving relationship would be able to offer me comfort that it does get better and any advice on how you got over your fears/learned to trust again. Thank you all in advance!
TLDR: I was cheated on in my last relationship and want to know how to learn to love/trust people again so that dating isn’t so scary to me