Cheating
Should you tell your partner about a one-night stand?
The evidence settles less than people want, but one finding is decision-relevant: how a partner finds out predicts what happens next.…
Contested1votes15 min read
Topic
Cheating
One of the most-searched and least-agreed-upon topics in relationships, starting with the fact that couples routinely define it differently. These answers cover the research on prevalence and recovery without moralising.
8 questions
- Cheating
How do you know if your partner is cheating?
Usually you cannot tell from behaviour, and the research is unusually blunt about it. Across hundreds of studies people identify deception…
Moderate evidence1votes14 min read - Cheating
What counts as emotional cheating?
There is no clinical definition and no research consensus on a threshold. What clinical practice and the research on extramarital involvement…
Contested13 min read - Cheating
Do most cheaters cheat again?
The strongest evidence finds that people who were unfaithful in one relationship were about three times as likely to be unfaithful in the next.…
Moderate evidence14 min read - Cheating
Why do people cheat when they are happy in their relationship?
Unhappiness does predict infidelity, but weakly. In the best prospective study, lower satisfaction raised the odds by a small margin, and most…
Moderate evidence15 min read - Cheating
Can watching porn be considered cheating?
There is no objective line. It depends on what you and your partner actually agreed, and most couples have never had that conversation. Where it…
Contested4votes11 min read - Cheating
Is flirting cheating?
There is no universal line. Research consistently finds that people disagree about whether flirting counts as infidelity, and that the…
Moderate evidence1votes11 min read - Cheating
Can a relationship survive infidelity?
Many do. The most informative evidence comes from couples who entered therapy after an affair and were followed for years afterwards: they…
Moderate evidence10 min read