Connor Beaton discusses why men cheat, arguing that many men who have affairs do so to preserve their primary relationship (they 'cheat to stay') rather than to leave it. He contrasts this with women, for whom infidelity more often signals emotional/sexual/intellectual withdrawal and an intention or readiness to exit the relationship.
Why do men cheat? Why are men unfaithful? Why do they have affairs and step out of the relationship? If you're a man that has ever been unfaithful and you have cheated, it's not always so obvious. For a lot of men that have affairs, the question why did I do this? Is actually quite prominent. On average, the majority of men that have affairs or that are cheating, they are cheating to stay. They don't want the primary relationship that they're in to end. They don't want the divorce to happen. They don't want the relationship to be over, but the affair happens anyways. Whereas with women, oftentimes cheating is a sign that she is either emotionally, sexually, physically, intellectually out of the relationship, she's done with it in some capacity. It's a sign that she's wanting to leave the marriage or wanting to leave the relationship, or she's at least thought about it. And this is her almost like dabbling with the exit or, you know, putting a stamp on the exit.
How to Raise Strong, Unshakable Boys in Today's Culture, with Dr. Shefali Tsabary
