Infidelity FAQs: Why Do People Cheat?

Posted: August 3, 2022

Approximately 15% of married people cheat on their spouses. But why do people cheat?

If your partner or spouse cheats on you, you can’t help but wonder why. Cheating hurts relationships and dissolves trust, yet it happens often.

The truth is that people cheat for many reasons. Here is a guide to help you learn about the most common reasons people cheat.

Disconnected in Relationship

Are you asking, “why did my partner cheat?” Most people ask this question after infidelity occurs, and one reason is a disconnection in the relationship.

Spouses might feel disconnected emotionally when they spend little time communicating with their spouses. However, others feel a physical disconnection from a lack of touching or sexual relationships.

Couples that strategically work on connecting might have a lower risk of experiencing infidelity. However, it’s important to know that you can rebuild trust after infidelity, but it will take some work.

Feeling Unloved or Disrespected

Men tend to want respect in their relationships, while women want love. But, both love and respect are important to both partners.

Therefore, some spouses cheat when they feel unloved or disrespected. They might get tired of asking their spouse for these things and turn to another person to experience love or respect.

So, why do spouses cheat? Many cheat to get the things they want from their relationship that their spouse isn’t giving them.

Lack of Boundaries

There are also times when infidelity happens from a lack of boundaries. If you research the psychology of cheating, you’ll find that people don’t always plan to cheat. Instead, it just happens.

In other words, cheating is more likely to occur when you fail to set up effective boundaries in your relationship.

Boundaries are like rules you create with your spouse to prevent infidelity and other problems. An example of a boundary that helps to prevent infidelity is having access to your partner’s phone.

This boundary isn’t designed to scrutinize everything they do on their phone. Instead, it provides access to their phone when you decide to look at it.

This boundary reminds people that their spouses could look at their phones anytime, causing them to avoid inappropriate conversations.

Sexual Addiction

The psychology of infidelity also leads to situations where there isn’t a good reason a spouse cheated. Cheating can occur for any reason or no reason at all. However, cheating also occurs when someone has a sexual addiction.

If you suspect this, you might want to learn the signs of cheating to know what to look for.

Seek Help if You’re Asking “Why Do People Cheat?”

When your partner cheats on you, it can leave you feeling sad, worthless, and hopeless. Seeking help from a professional is the best remedy you have, regardless of if you want to stay in the relationship or leave.

Online Counseling & Coaching Services in California:

As an experienced California relationship coach, I offer online counseling & coaching in California for individuals, couples, and families.

For more information, you can email me at [email protected] or call me at 949-385-2544 today for a free consultation.