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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU' Men are as faithful as their options'.

174 replies

needyoumorethanwantyou · 19/10/2014 17:58

The US comedian Chris Rock said this a few years ago. Obviously it was a glib comedic response to the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the response by his male political opponents about how disgusting it was yet, it was very unlikely anyone was 'trying to blow them' in political office and if someone was trying, they'd probably do the same.

Obviously everyone is an individual and women cheat too so I'm not just talking about men but AIBU to think there's some truth in this?.

I see so many threads on MN about long (decades in some cases) relationships when an infidelity comes out of the blue. I don't believe that all of these men/women were unhappy in their relationship beforehand. I think most of them were.....before they were presented with another option.

Shirley Glass even says in her book about infidelity that people need to have strict boundaries about interpersonal relations outside of their romantic relationship, particularly with work mates. But isn't that saying that if someone has chance to spend enough time with someone else and there's mutual attraction, an affair will often follow?.

It's happened to friends of mine who have been devastated by apparent complete changes of character from the partner they thought would never be unfaithful.

I also know of partners that aren't cheating but do try it on with other people and if they weren't knocked back, they would be cheating!.

And I totally disagree with this idea that OW/OM cause the problem, 'offering it on a plate' or whatever. I think it's that the cheat probably wasn't presented with an alternative to their spouse/partner before and when they were - they went for it.

I am a bit world-weary I admit!. But often when I hear 'oh, they'd never cheat' I do sometimes think...maybe that's just because they don't have the opportunity.

AIBU?.

OP posts:
SevenZarkSeven · 19/10/2014 18:40

thefishwife yes I have always thought it must be difficult if you have outrageously hot people throwing themselves at you constantly.

SevenZarkSeven · 19/10/2014 18:40

although maybe it would get dull?

oh to find out Grin

moonfacebaby · 19/10/2014 18:42

I think an alarming percentage of men would cheat, if they knew they wouldn't get caught out. But that's because I've been badly burnt - my exH wasn't what you'd ever have guessed to be the cheating type & if he did it, anyone can.

I don't think that there's any formula to protect your relationship either - you can be having regular, amazing sex, communicate well & be in a brilliant relationship - but if temptation is there, you can never guarantee that someone won't do it.

But I do accept that I'm probably very tarnished by what happened to me. I personally wouldn't cheat because I just think it's a horrible thing to do to anyone. It's affected me deeply & I really miss the person I once was.

There is no perfect relationship & for a person who cheats, they will often use any excuse or reason as to why they did it. Some relationships are dead & cheating happens but it's still a messy way to end it.

Thefishewife · 19/10/2014 18:44

I think even the most faithful among us would find it hard with people models all sorts basically removing their cloths before you have even finished saying your name

And if their motivation is being famous and Rich then I would imagin they would persu you with a zeal

NoMarymary · 19/10/2014 18:45

Dh once said to me men will say anything to get a woman into bed Shock

Considering he asked me to marry him on the second date even though it took 2 years to actually tie the knot, I do believe him as he clearly wanted sex not marriage at the time.

Totally shocked me when he said this but we have been married 10 years and to the best of my knowledge he has not cheated. Having said that I could not say with any faith that he hadn't. So yes I think a lot of men are genetically programmed to 'spread their genes!'

formerbabe · 19/10/2014 18:46

I believe some men can be completely happy in their relationship and love their partner and cheat anyway.

In general I believe that women are more likely to cheat if they are unhappy.

Not in all cases obviously.

needyoumorethanwantyou · 19/10/2014 18:46

And agree with the pop-stars thing. We're often surprised by public infidelity. Ronan Keating, Mark Owen etc seemed like lovely family men but given all the options they were presented with; they took them.

Recently in the news - The 50 something unattractive MP probably was a faithful husband ..till a 20 something woman (we now know it was a journalist) came on to him.

OP posts:
SevenZarkSeven · 19/10/2014 18:48

I would go with people are as faithful as their options" TBH.

I am not convinced on a big sex divide on this, I do however think that women often have a. less opportunity b. more to lose c. more pressure from society not to

CatKisser · 19/10/2014 18:49

Like many others, I've tied myself up in knots believing a partner was cheating. I snooped, I tried to catch him out, I generally turned into a very, very unhappy person. (He was cheating, btw.)

Now I just believe that you have absolutely no control over what your partner decides to do, and all you can do is be crystal clear about your boundaries. If they know "no second chances" means just that, and they STILL cheat, then they've made an informed decision and it's easier to let them go.

chosenone · 19/10/2014 18:49

There seems to be many, many reasons why people cheat. From the most unlikely having opportunities topeople seek opportunity because for whatever reason ( cake and eat it, boredom, self esteem, midlife crisis, madonna/whore complex).
Im quite jaded and cynical after finding out about , knowing of many women and men who have cheated despite being happy in their relationships.
Opportunities i recall....I balk at the memory of being young and stupid and going to a pretty dull pub quiz with a uni friend. We befriended a local and took him home for a threesome Blush never stopping to ask his relationship status. Only 'after' his wife and mother of 3 kids phoned gis mobile and he left in panic ! Similarly my best friend went to a big swanky xmas do and one colleague gushed over his new born baby and messaged his partner all night. By midnight he was shagging best friends secretary Sad. Both opportunities from nowhere and clearly alcohol fuelled.

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 19/10/2014 18:52

I think that the reason some people stay married is not because they love their husband/wife but because a) they don't have the opportunity to cheat or b) if they do, they don't want the financial and emotional holocaust that ensues.

I don't think you can ever guarantee what your partner will or won't do; nor can you ever know what you would or wouldn't do unless you'd really been tested. It's very easy to say that you never would if you haven't had the opportunity yourself or if you didn't find yourself in a position of having to make the choice to cheat or not.

It's very easy to say 'no' to somebody who doesn't do it for you. That's not any kind of test.

riverboat1 · 19/10/2014 18:53

I definitely think there is something to that, OP. Even if it's not a direct correlation between 'number of options' and 'likelihood to cheat', it's got to be a factor.

I have never cheated and hope I never will. But I can certainly imagine how easy it could be to give into a temptation, and I don't think it necessarily WOULD have anything to do with being unhappy in my relationship. Humans are complex creatures.

Iwantmyparcel · 19/10/2014 18:53

I read one that anyone will behave as badly as they believe they can get away with.

I think this applies here in regard to what I think. I'm also not convinced monogomy is for humans in general. Or at least not all of them.

guitarosauras · 19/10/2014 18:55

I disagree, it's about morals rather than options.

Alisvolatpropiis · 19/10/2014 18:56

I'd agree with that as well, Iwant.

Women cheat, as Seven said there is perhaps less opportunity for them to do so often, but they still cheat.

I also think women are less likely to get caught out.

Chunderella · 19/10/2014 18:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SevenZarkSeven · 19/10/2014 18:57

YY

The reason for cheating, especially as a one-off or casual thing, might be no more complex than "I felt like it".

Like others I feel you can never really truly know what is going on in someone elses head - and much of the time that's probably a good thing right?!

needyoumorethanwantyou · 19/10/2014 18:57

Agree chose - Have known friends male and female in happy relationships shag other people on nights out or have more involved affairs.

Been out celebrating a male work colleague s first baby and him go to some random womans hotel at the end of the night.

Had friends partners try to snog me after my mates gone to bed drunk. And I am no Angelina Jolie!. They might not be cheating but only because they're getting knocked back - if someone returned their advances they'd be at it.

OP posts:
SevenZarkSeven · 19/10/2014 18:59

I mean, the amount of random snogging amongst drunken people at work xmas parties for instance is vast isn't it. Usually oneoffs, and only half remembered in the morning and put to one side.

That is cheating obviously and it goes on all the time.

SevenZarkSeven · 19/10/2014 18:59

x-posts!

areyoubeingserviced · 19/10/2014 19:03

Totally agree with Chris Rock.
Some of the nicest men I know have cheated on their wives,
However , I would say the same about women. Women cheat, but tend to get away with it because people don't expect them to cheat.

Momagain1 · 19/10/2014 19:04

We entered our relationship in agreement that, under circumstances, anyone could end up cheating. Once. The trick is, do they recognise this as a symptom of something needs fixing (in themselves, their work, circle of friends or their marriage) or do they turn into an ongoing sneak? Do they take it from forgivable to unforgivable via an affair or repeated ONS?

We discussed this, and many other intimate expectations and requirements the night we met. Yes, at the time, i thought it was very weird to be discussing such stuff with a guy I had just met and only knew his first name. But, so it went. I was coming off a young divorce, and out of a second LTR that was at risk of becoming permanent just because it was easy: and I knew if that happened I would be at risk of an affair with a particular sort of man that He wasnt. But this new guy (now DP), as it happens, was. Now DP was the son of a man who quite blatantly and openly dated outside of marriage until DMil finally kicked him out.

So, we both believed in the same boundaries: once could be forgiven, more than that was an unforgivable habit. We are coming up on 23 years. If he has managed to have an affair or ONS, i don't know. I know I have had opportunity, but couldn't be bothered.

needyoumorethanwantyou · 19/10/2014 19:09

Agree with Lying - that is what Chris Rock was saying really. Very easy to say you/your partner wouldn't cheat when no-one else you/they find attractive is an option but it's often a different story if someone you/they fancy is up for it.

The 'are humans meant to be monogamous' anyway is a complex question but I wonder if it's easier to be monogamous if not presented with attractive opportunities.

OP posts:
specialsubject · 19/10/2014 19:25

how very insulting to decent men.

Bogeyface · 19/10/2014 19:31

how very insulting to decent men.

Define decent.