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26 Psychological Facts About a Cheating Man

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There is no relationship topic as hotly debated as cheating. Whether it’s your mom, friend, sister, or brother, pretty much anyone you ask has an opinion on infidelity. This is especially true when a man is the offending party. In light of this, what are the psychological facts about a cheating man?

Well, cheating is a common occurrence in relationships. Both men and women do it. However, there are a few psychological facts about cheating that you may not know. That said, we’ll focus on the topic of philandering men for now.

Whether he’s feeling unhappy or insecure, there are several psychological facts about a cheating man that may blow your mind.

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Psychological Facts About a Cheating Man

Without further ado, let’s dive in and discover some interesting facts about cheating men.

1. He’s Looking for a Way Out

Some men cheat because they are too afraid to end things. If he is looking for a way out and understands infidelity is a rule breaker for you, he may decide to cheat on you. It’s not fair to you, but it’s the optimal solution for him.

2. He May Be Going Through Some Stuff

Unbeknownst to you, your partner may be going through mental health challenges, specifically depression and/or anxiety.

Feeling anxious may increase his likelihood of making impulsive decisions. These are decisions he may not ordinarily have made had he not had the mental illness. Depending on the severity of his condition, he may decide to seek an outlet to find relief. And that just may be cheating on you.

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3. Some Male Cheaters Are Sex Addicts

Your man may be battling sexual addiction. This can be caused by several factors, one of which includes past trauma.

As a result, he may seek to escape emotional pain by distracting himself with sex. Another driver of his sexual addiction could be that he is seeking affirmation. Men in these positions typically feel weak or inferior and use sex to cope with this.

Sadly, they struggle to form emotional connections with others, which may exacerbate their cheating. And so the cycle continues.

4. When The Opportunity Presents Itself…

Sir Francis Bacon is often credited with saying, “Opportunity makes the thief,” and this just may apply to cheating too.

Like robberies and assaults, cheating can be a crime of opportunity.

For example, your lover may be at the store to buy groceries and notice a cute store clerk. He decides to strike up a conversation and get her number. What follows is him cheating on you with this lady.

That’s it—a chance encounter with the opportunity to cheat presented itself. And he took it.

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5. He’s Seeking an Emotional Connection

Your man may find you physically attractive, and you may check all the boxes, but there just isn’t a connection. He may also cheat because he feels that he does not get emotional support from you.

This usually happens when he feels you don’t “see” him. He feels disconnected from you, and if this occurs over a sustained period, he may begin to think of sleeping with other people to fill the void.

6. He’s Had Narcissistic or Psychopathic Tendencies

Some men who cheat have a blatant disregard for their partner’s feelings. This is an aspect of narcissistic and/or psychopathic behavior. That being said, not every selfish cheater is a narcissist or psychopath, and one has to be diagnosed by a mental health professional.

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7. There’s (No) Food at Home

If there’s no food at home, you go out to buy groceries (or takeout). The same applies to a cheating man. He may believe that if his needs at home aren’t met, he can fulfill them outside with another woman.

8. He Doesn’t Have a Male Support System

Compared to women, men have less of a social support system that consists of close male friends. As a result, they don’t receive the compassion and support from male figures and are more susceptible to welcoming this from other women.

While there’s nothing wrong with having female friends, he may develop romantic feelings for a woman who shows him affection in this regard. Affairs like this usually start with a female colleague caring for and supporting him as a friend and then progress to a far more insidious relationship.

It’s true that you can’t do anything to stop someone from cheating, but it may help to encourage your male partner to have “brothers” and build healthy friendships with other men.

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9. The Thrill of Something New

A common reason your partner may cheat is because he’s seeking something new. He may desire something different, a break from the routine, so he finds it in someone else.

10. He’s a Selfish Person

It goes without saying that cheating can cause emotional distress to the innocent party. As such, it stands to reason that a cheating man doesn’t care about how his behavior affects his partner.

He may only think about himself and his needs and has no regard for you. That’s what probably makes it easy for him to cheat on you. It’s a lack of integrity on his part and is not a reflection of you.

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11. Or: It’s not Him, It’s You

Now, this is not what you think it means. It’s not that you’ve done anything wrong in particular. In fact, your man may cheat because he thinks he’s not doing a good job of making you happy. So, what does he do in this instance? He finds someone else to make happy instead by cheating on you.

If this doesn’t make sense to you—you’re not alone. It’s counterproductive because cheating on you is precisely the thing that is going to make you unhappy.

But, alas. This is a post about the psychological facts about a cheating man, not the logical reasons for him doing so.

12. He’s Insecure

The saying, “Hurt people hurt others,” rings true when it comes to some cheating men. Everything may be going well in your relationship: you share the same values, agree on your future goals and more. But he has negative feelings about himself that drive him to cheat on you.

It could be that he feels he’s not rich enough or intelligent enough and can’t fathom how he managed to bag someone like you.

His cheating is a reflection of his feelings of inadequacy, so he tries to measure up by seeking validation from other women.

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13. The Rules Don’t Apply to Him

He understands that cheating is wrong and that it can have serious consequences for your relationship, but he just doesn’t care. The rules don’t apply to him. He may think he’s the exception to the rule and that he can do whatever he wants with whomever he wants.

14. He’s Out for Blood

If your man feels slighted in some way, he may decide to cheat on you. You may have cheated on him before, and he wants to avenge himself. Or, he may be retaliating for a lesser “crime” of yours; he may have felt hurt by you in some way and decided to teach you a lesson.

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15. He’s Immature

He may not be mature enough to be faithful or respect you as his partner. Some cheating men don’t have enough relationship experience to understand the consequences of cheating.

16. He Can’t Handle Your Success

If you’re more successful than he is and are out-earning him, he’s more likely to cheat on you.

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17. Lack of Self-control

Your male lover may have lacked the discipline necessary to curb his impulses and not cheat on you.

18. He’s Trying to Save Your Marriage

As counterintuitive as this may sound, a man who cheats may be doing it to save his marriage. If everything is going well at home, except for him not getting his sexual needs met, he may decide to not “rock the boat” and stay put.

It’s his way of satisfying his sexual urges with another woman while maintaining a happy home life with his wife and family. It may sound duplicitous, but it’s a reality with some cheating men.

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19. A Thirst for Adventure

He may be bored with the routine and mundaneness of his life. Some men cheat because, between work, running a household, and being a father, the daily grind can grind the fun out of life. This is their way of setting sail on a new “adventure”.

20. He May Have Unrealistic Expectations

If he expects you to be at his beck and call and doesn’t have these expectations met, he may feel entitled to cheat on you.

This type of man may not respect that you have a life of your own, with your desires and goals. Unfortunately, not everyone can meet your expectations. So, whether you are a man or woman, it helps to have realistic expectations of your partner and respect them as a person outside of the role they play as your lover.

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21. A Poor Understanding of Commitment

He may misunderstand what it takes to sustain a long-term romantic relationship.

Some men may cheat because, after the feelings of intensity in the honeymoon period wane, they think that’s the end of the relationship. But that’s not the case. A fact about relationships is that it takes work and commitment.

22. Too Close to the Bottle (and Other Substances)

Because drinking excessively and using substances can affect your decision-making, a man who has a substance abuse problem may be more likely to cheat. This is because these substances can make you more impulsive.

He may not have intentions of cheating but does so because he’s had too much to drink at the bar.

23. Birds of A Feather

We’ve all heard that “Birds of a feather flock together,” and this is true with some men who cheat.

If your soulmate has friends who cheat on their wives or girlfriends, then he may be more likely to cheat as a result. People who are friends typically share the same values, so it may be that being faithful isn’t a cherished value in his friendship circle.

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24. He Doesn’t Feel Valued

Some cheating men do so because they don’t feel valued in their relationships. Their partner may be taking them for granted or disrespecting them, so he decides to cheat.

This can show up in different ways. You may not communicate with him as effectively as you used to. Or you’re just not spending enough time with him as you did before. Another example of you not appreciating him could be you being too focused on other aspects of your life, that you neglect to prioritize him.

Despite what people think, men have feelings too. And it’s important for them to feel valued and appreciated.

One way you can do this is to have date nights and find time to connect with one another outside of managing your household or raising kids.

25. Evolution Is To Blame

It is often believed that men’s biology is to blame for them being more likely to cheat than women.

This is no excuse for a man deciding to cheat. But there may be evolutionary reasons behind it. Some believe that men cheat because of their genetic wiring.

However, it must be said that there may be cultural factors that play a part too. Society is more lenient to cheating men—though this is slowly changing—than it is to women who cheat. The former is usually believed to be behaving according to his biological impulses, whereas the latter is believed to be an outcast.

26. He May Be Struggling to Get it Up

Sadly, some men (between 9–25% of them) suffer from sexual performance anxiety. 

This may result in some of them feeling as though they’re less of a man due to their inability to get it up. As a result, these men may opt to cheat.

They do this to seek validation outside their relationship. If they can “perform” with another woman, they’ve “beaten” the feeling of inadequacy.

Frequently Asked Questions about Cheating Men

What is the mentality of cheaters?

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A man who cheats may have anything from low self esteem through to a narcissistic personality disorder.

What personality traits do cheaters have?

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According to Psychology Today, people who treat score high on extraversion, neuroticism and openness to experience.

Why do guys cheat even if they love you?

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Men may cheat due to psychological issues like low self esteem or it may be that their emotional needs aren’t being met.

Related Posts:

Interesting Facts about Introverts

Psychological Facts about Dreaming of Someone

Psychological Facts about Happiness

Psychological Facts about Serial Killers

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