Reasons women cheat in relationships
1. Sex
“Women appreciate good sex just like anyone else,” Nelson says. “Women cheat when they find a man or woman that turns them on.” If anyone tells you men cheat for sex and women cheat for emotion, she adds, they’re wrong.
A recent study published in the 1Journal of Sex Research1 found that, although men are still more likely to cheat for sexual variety, it’s still among the top three reasons women cheat.
2. They’re unhappy with their current relationship
The same study found another top reason women cheat is that they’ve fallen out of love with their current partner. Even if the love is still there, in general a woman who’s unhappy in her relationship may be more inclined to cheat. Whether because of anger, home, financial problems, family trouble—the list goes on—they may feel cheating will offer them what their current relationship isn’t.
“Women cheat because the relationship at home is cooling off,” Nelson says. “If there is tension or boredom at home, excitement on the side can be a distraction, a temptation too great to avoid.”
3. It was just a mistake
The third top reason for women cheating, according to the study? It was just situational. Things like being drunk and “not thinking clearly.”
“Everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes, affairs happen because of opportunity,” Nelson adds. “Women can act impulsively and then regret it.” In other words, it’s entirely possible there isn’t much deeper meaning aside from an opportunity that they weren’t able to pass up in the moment.
4. They’re craving intimacy
Whether it’s physical or emotional, intimacy is one of those needs we all want to see met. If a woman isn’t feeling intimately fulfilled in her relationship, and someone comes along who exhibits that type of intimacy, there will be an attraction.
Some older research2 has found women tend to have a stronger emotional connection to the new person they’re cheating with than male cheaters do, suggesting romance is part of the cheating equation for women.
5. The new person made them feel special
Sometimes people cheat because the new person gave them a new feeling or made them feel like someone else. “Women report that an affair lover makes them feel special, sexy, and adored, and that attention is hard to ignore, no matter what their spouse does at home,” Nelson says.