For many, when a husband or wife cheats, it is hard to ever 100 percent trust that spouse again. In some cases though, people will try and move on from what happened and stay together. However, in other cases, infidelity is enough of a reason to end a marriage.
In talking about infidelity, according to the General Social Survey, the majority of men and women reported that cheating is never OK. However, overall, more women — 84 percent — reported infidelity as always wrong, while just 78 percent of men reported feeling the same way.
When it comes to cheating though, general feelings on it were not the only areas where differences were reported between men and women. In fact, according to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, men were more likely to have cheated than women, with 25 percent of men admitting to having a sexual relationship with someone else while still married. Of those women asked, 15 percent admitted to cheating while married.
In reading this though, with 15 percent of women admitting to cheating, a 2010 National Opinion Research Center study found women are 40 percent more likely to cheat nowadays than they were 20 years ago. In looking at why, some point to the fact that more women are working and traveling for business.
Looking at why spouses cheat was rather interesting too. While some would assume people cheat because they are unhappy in their marriages, one survey found that 54 percent of men who cheated rated their marriage as not being bad, or even good, prior to cheating. Of the woman asked, 34 percent also reported feeling the same way, that their marriage was not that bad, or even good, prior to the affair.
So just do why people cheat? It really all depends on the situation. Some feel disconnected to their spouse, while others just do not feel appreciated in their marriages.
Whatever the reasoning though, for some cheating is a breaking point and leads to divorce, while for others it may be a sign their marriage is in hot water.
Source: Huffington Post, “Why People Cheat: 12 Differences Between Men and Women,” Terri Coles, Oct. 18, 2013
