I am considering a relationship with someone the had herpes type 1. he had never an outbreak or symptoms. i am wondering if he can spread the virus to me through sex. by the i mean if there is no oral contact between us can he spread the virus to me?

Maybe very small chance, but much too low risk to worry about -- even with kissing or oral sex. Anyway, half of all adults in the US have HSV1; if you're going to avoid sex with people with HSV1, you would be eliminating half of all persons as potential sex partners, which of course is nonsense. There's also a fair chance you already have HSV1 yourself, in which case you're immune to new infection