Just as marriage has been a time honored traditions in many societies throughout human history, so is the fact that spouses will cheat on each other. Most societies see marriage as a monogamous relationship, which requires a spouse to not have sex with anyone else. For some reason, however, some spouses allow themselves to pursue other people outside of the confines of marriage and that can cause some relationship problems.
Cheating Spouse Statistics
1. The percentage of affairs that begin at work: 60%.
2. Up to 60% of all spouses will take part in some form of infidelity at least once during their marriage.
3. 56% of men who have affairs claim to be happy in their marriages.
4. Women and men cheat at the same rate within a marriage, although the reasons why women cheat are very different from the reasons that men cheat.
5. The most common reason why a woman cheats on her spouse: emotional satisfaction.
6. Research consistently shows that 2 to 3% of all children are the product of infidelity.
7. Infidelity is becoming more common among people under 30.
8. In many cases, infidelity never gets discovered.
9. Most people are surprised by their own behavior at the start of an affair.
10. Almost everyone admits to having fantasies that involve someone other than a spouse.
11. 34% of women who had affairs claimed to be happy or very happy in their marriages.
12. Cheating is not the leading cause of divorce in the world today. Incompatibility is the #1 document reason, making communication the leading cause.
13. Some studies put the percentage of husbands who will eventually cheat at close to 50%.
14. High school dropouts and couples in which one partner is largely dependent on the other’s income are more apt to become cheating spouses.
15. Although the cheating laws are rarely enforced, adultery is considered to be a crime in Michigan, Minnesota, and South Carolina.
16. The percentage of marriages where one or both spouses admit to infidelity, either physical or emotional: 41%.
17. 22% of men admit to straying at least once while being married.
18. The average length of an extra-marital affair: 2 years.
19. 31%. That’s the percentage of marriages that stay together after a cheating spouse has been discovered or the affair is admitted.
20. Men [74%] are more likely than women [68%] to say that they would have an affair if they knew that they wouldn’t be caught.
21. 17% of cheating spouses have an affair with one of their in-laws.
22. The percentage of cheating spouses who have a fling while on a business trip: 35%.
23. Only 3 to 4% of spouses have cheated on their significant other in any given year.
24. 99% of Americans state that they expect their spouse to stay faithful to them.
25. More Americans today [80%] say that infidelity is wrong than they did in 1970 [70%].
26. The overall chances that a marriage will have one spouse cheat over the life of the marriage: 1 in 4.
How is Cheating Defined
Cheating doesn’t have to always have to include sex either. Emotional affairs are even more common than physical affairs because to the cheater, it doesn’t really feel like cheating. If one spouse is getting their emotional needs satisfied outside of the marriage and thinks more about their “friend” then they do their spouse, then an affair might be going on.
We often think of cheating spouses being unhappy with their marriage, but for a majority of cheaters, this just isn’t the case. Most cheaters are actually happy with their life and aren’t really looking for a way to end their marriage. Most affairs actually start through friendships that develop over time through close quarters contact. Sometimes cheaters just cheat because they want to fix their marriage and aren’t willing to confront the real problems that are present.
As the statistics show, sometimes a marriage sets itself up for cheating. If two spouses are going in two different directions all day and never spend time with each other, then they have the highest risks of infidelity happening within their relationship. The good news is that the statistics also show that cheating doesn’t have to end a marriage.
Is Monogamous Relationships Possible?
Some believe that monogamous relationships are nearly impossible for humans to achieve. Others base their foundations for single sexual partners based on their religious beliefs. In some passages of the Bible, in fact, a complete lack of sex is advocated. Is it any wonder then that a country like the United States, which views itself as Christian, would be ashamed of its overall sexual identity?
The reality is that sex or emotions that happen outside of a marriage don’t have to ruin the relationship. Most people already admit to fantasizing about having sex with other people. According to the tenets of Christianity, that’s already an affair. Why is the US fine with fantasy, but ashamed of anything that goes beyond the imagination? It’s an interesting paradox that undoubtedly leads to the overwhelming demand for monogamy. Americans define themselves by their sexuality – or their lack of it.
Relationships view sex as part of the commitment. It’s a need that should be met within that relationship. The fact still remains that people develop relationships outside of their marriage and those relationships can develop into an affair for the simple reason that a cheating spouse feels good about how they feel when they are with another person.
With about 4% of spouses cheating every year, there’s a good chance that some of these numbers are inflated. It’s also important to note that 1 in 3 marriages continues on even after an affair. That doesn’t mean that it can be easy to continue on or that a cheating spouse is going to be trusted immediately. It does mean that sometimes when a spouse cheats, they discover that the grass really isn’t greener on the other side of the fence.