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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Do all men cheat even the good ones?

163 replies

London7 · 27/09/2008 09:09

I am horrified to find out that some of our male friends, who I have always looked up to have cheated on their partners. They have admitted it to me and told me that even my husband must be doing it because it is normal for a guy to do that!. Am I being naive or are they right?

OP posts:
NotCod · 27/09/2008 17:40

scary all ill say is no i was UTTERLY stunned

my sister intelginent professional, bloshy and utterly weak int h face of her h.
youd NEVER beleive it

ambercat · 27/09/2008 17:44

Scary teacher, i am in the middle of separating from my husband (marine) he had an affair and i discovered he was never faithfull to me in 13 years.

All his friends and colleagues are the same, if they are away from their wives and girlfriends then they shag around. Some of these guys are the lovliest, most family orientated men you could ever want to meet. You would never dream that they would do it but the vast majority do.

When i go for a night out in town i see all these marine out pulling and know alot of them are attached.

Sorry but i'm very cynical about forces men now. I never thought my h would do it, but he did.

WhirlingStirling · 27/09/2008 17:47

I believe that if they work with others who are having affairs and it is acceptable in their circle of friends, they are more likely to themselves.

NotCod · 27/09/2008 17:47

yes adn pilots and cabin crew
all at it
where is northener
she knows all abotu htis havign worked in hotels

twinsetandpearls · 27/09/2008 17:54

No, as has been shown on mumsnet recently my dp can be an arse but I know he woudl never cheat.

ambercat · 27/09/2008 17:55

Agree stirling, h and his friends normalised their behaviour, even now that it has blown his marriage and his family apart, h doesn't seem to think it that bad as he was always pissed and it didn't mean anything

Cappuccino · 27/09/2008 17:57

dh gets v insulted when this comes up on mn

he blithers on about tarring and brushes

twinsetandpearls · 27/09/2008 17:58

From experience an amazing number of teachers cheat. I have bean a teacher who cheated ( in the sexual sense not in a test!) and I know it was quite common. I think divorce rate in teachers is very high.

ranting · 27/09/2008 18:00

Capp and your dh would be right. No two people are alike, you will always get those who cheat (male and female), the laws of human nature ensure that on the flipside you will always get those who don't.

twinsetandpearls · 27/09/2008 18:00

The town I live in sees quite a lot of cheating soldiers, I hasten to add I only know this as I know someone who spends her weekends being chatted up by them.

NotCod · 27/09/2008 18:06

this is intersting i think

WhirlingStirling · 27/09/2008 18:44

That was interesting - I didn't realise that he had had an affair - It is difficult enough dealing with the betrayal without it being plastered across the newspapers.

Judy1234 · 27/09/2008 18:47

Massive number of married men on line, a good few email me (not that I'm interested). But I think about 25% of men and women in long relationships cheat. Women have been found much less likely to get found out (they hide it better and it's culturally less acceptable for women to cheat - they don't show off about it when drinking with their girlfriends whereas men might). A friend of mine has a wife and long term mistress. They have friends that he sees with his lover but most of the time he's with his wife. Someone else I know was allowed by his wife to see others over a long period (she didn't want a divorce or sex or something). But it's the men who talk about it. How many women on this thread are prepared to admit they cheat? You just never get to the true statistics.

In evolutionary terms women are supposed to marry dull men who will provide for them and then have children with other men who have good genes and are risky and good looking hence why a number of children are not really the chlidren of their father.

CapricaSix · 27/09/2008 18:52

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KerryMum · 27/09/2008 18:53

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elastamum · 27/09/2008 19:05

My DH said he would never cheat even when that is exactly what he was doing. I found out and we are now seperated soon to be divorced. It wasnt just the sex, more the bare faced lying that has destroyed the trust in our marriage

clam · 27/09/2008 19:12

No, all men absolutely do not cheat. In fact, I think it just says something about the circles you move in if you think it's so.
Just because lots of people out there in public life/TV wherever, seem to be doing it, does NOT mean that we all are.
I know that my DH hasn't and wouldn't in the same way as I know that the Queen would not rip her top off during the state opening of Parliament and flash her tits.
DH is a decent, honourable man with integrity (unfashionable terms these days, I know) who a) loathes cheating in any form and b) loves and respects me and our DCs and would not therefore jeopardise our lives by wrecking things with a fling, even if we were going through a dodgy patch. We were, once. He was faced with an opportunity and turned it down politely.
My dad, the other men in my family and our close friends are of the same ilk. Not dull losers either, but decent, kind, successful, nice-looking men, all of them.

wannaBe · 27/09/2008 19:17

Tbh I think you can never say never. And I think we should never say never. Not because we/all our husbands are going to cheat on us and we on them, but because it's often the complacency that he never will that causes people to work less hard at their relationships which in turn often causes partners to cheat.

We must believe that our partners will never cheat, because you cannot build a relationship on suspicion and mistrust.

More often than not affairs happen because there is something missing in the relationship, and I think that sometimes it?s not just the one having the affair that is at fault, but is always the one that carries the full blame.

Of course this isn?t always the case, and there are some selfish people out there who cheat on their partners simply because they can, but I genuinely believe that often affairs are a symptom of the problems rather than the cause iyswim.

And while it?s easy to say from the sidelines that if the marriage is unhappy people should just leave, if it were that simple, people would. But it isn?t that simple. It isn?t that easy to leave a marriage and be on your own, even if the marriage is an unhappy one it still provides a sense of security that it?s hard to walk away from.

I also think that it?s important to separate the act from the perpetrator. The act of having an affair is selfish, I don?t think anyone would dispute that. But does it automatically follow that someone who has an affair is a bad person? I don?t really think so.

For example, imagine a woman in a sexless marriage. She loves her husband, but he has no sex drive, and shows her no affection. But she loves him, and he is a good husband in all but the physical aspect of their relationship. As time goes on, she begins to feel unloved by him, and every time he rejects her advances she feels less and less attractive. And then she gets noticed by someone in the office. Someone who seems to be attracted to her, who pays her the complements her husband hasn?t for years. She loves her husband, but she needs to feel loved, and because this other man makes her feel special in a way her husband doesn?t, she does the unthinkable and gives in to her desire to be with someone. (this could equally apply to a man). Now, the act of having the affair is wrong. The act of having sex with someone when she has a husband is wrong. But the affair was born out of a desparate need to feel wanted, and the belief that although her husband is there for her on a practical level, he no longer has that desire to be there for her on a physical level. Does that make her a bad person? A slag?

Spidermama · 27/09/2008 19:17

Mine's cheated twice in 17 years and he's great otherwise.

KerryMum · 27/09/2008 19:18

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NotDoingTheHousework · 27/09/2008 19:19

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scaryteacher · 27/09/2008 19:20

I am sorry about that Ambercat, but I still know several members of the Forces who don't cheat.

dh and I have a good relationship - we make each other laugh, and understand what makes each other tick. I have to trust him when he's away, or I'd go mad as I'm paranoid, and he has to trust me to be there when he gets back.

jellybeans · 27/09/2008 19:20

I think the reason affairs are so hard to get over are that they are usually very unexpected and come as a shock. After all few people actively expect their DP to cheat. Many affairs are by 'decent' men, even clergy etc. I think it is a little naive or risky to be 100% sure of someone elses actions. I think that anyone can cheat and would never say my DH would never cheat, I would just hope he wouldn't. I am not in complete control of him and he is not of me, it is possible that either of us could, same with anyone elses DH/DW. The best you can do is have a good relaionship but even that is no guarrentee!!

clam · 27/09/2008 19:28

I can say here, and am willing to come back in 30 years and vouch for it again, that I WILL NOT ever cheat on my husband. However much provovation he might give me.
It would crucify him, and I wouldn't hurt someone in that way. And if he could never find out? Still wouldn't, because it would crucify me too. Wouldn't be able to live with myself.

Grumpalina · 27/09/2008 19:31

Obviously not ALL men cheat but I think the majority would if they had the opportunity. I work in a predominantly male enviroment and I have been propositioned too many times to mention. Infact I worked on a team of 20 men and by the time I left 18 had propositioned me. I found it all v depressing and maybe it has tainted my view of men but I would never say my man would never cheat.