Why Men Cheat vs Why Women Cheat

What makes a married man or married woman cheat on his or her spouse? Why does a person in a committed relationship cheat on his or her significant other? The reason depends on whether you're talking about a cheating woman or a cheating man, since the reasons why men cheat differ from the reasons why women cheat. Numerous infidelity studies, surveys and polls have found that cheating men and cheating women have different motivations for getting involved in extramarital affairs.

The Top Reasons Men and Women Cheat

For most men, sex is the primary motivating factor for cheating on their mate. The majority of the reasons cheating men give for their infidelity were directly or indirectly related to sex.

On the other hand, women who were cheating on their spouses or significant others had different motivations for their affairs. The primary motivating factors for cheating wives are linked to unmet emotional needs or dissatisfaction with their marriage, or their mate.

Below are the 10 most common reasons cheating husbands and cheating wives use to justify their extramarital affairs:

Top 10 Reasons Why Men Cheat

• more sex (the desire for a more active sex life)

• sexual variety (the desire for different type of sex or particular sex act)

• opportunistic sex ( presented with an opportunity to have sex without getting caught)

• to satisfy sexual curiosity (about having sex with a particular person)

• to reaffirm his sexuality

• a feeling of entitlement (the belief that it's a man's prerogative to cheat)

• the "thrill of the chase"

• the desire to feel important or special ( an ego boost)

• peer pressure

• sexual addiction

Top 10 Reasons Why Women Cheat

• lack of emotional intimacy (a desire for a close emotional bond)

• dissatisfaction with her mate

• marital or relationship unhappiness

• a desire for male attention

• to reaffirm her desirability (To feel validated as a woman)

• to re-experience feelings of romance

• a desire to feel "special"

• boredom

• loneliness

• sexual excitement