Why do women REALLY cheat? Expert reveals what drives a cheating wife to stay

Cheating is taboo in most relationships, which tend to value monogamy – but why do women really cheat?

There have been various studies into why women cheat on their partners, and the results can be surprising.

One such piece of research revealed one reason why women cheat is that they are acting out of revenge.

Fourteen per cent of women claimed that they slept with someone else to get back at their partner, while only 9 per cent of men stated the same reason.

Another study claimed that one of the reasons why women cheat is that they are not being given enough gifts by their partner. 

The study found 69 per cent of women cheated because they did not feel appreciated, and cited not getting enough gifts as a major reason for this. 

However, an expert has looked into some the cliches about why women cheat and analysed just how true they are.

A sociologist at Missouri State University, Alicia Walker, claimed that most women do not really want to leave their husbands, despite their infidelity.

She told Business : “Unlike what we think about women, the reality is that the women I spoke to are cheating to stay married.

“They’re not cheating for revenge, or to get out of a marriage, or get the husband to notice them through bad behaviour — they were cheating primarily for sexual pleasure and to remain married.”

The expert, who has written a book “The Secret Life of the Cheating Wife: Power, Pragmatism, and Pleasure in Women’s Infidelity,” also claimed that women tend to plan their affairs carefully, and often cheat with more than one man.

She said: “They were very practical and methodical, in their decision making and then their vetting of who they were going to get involved with.

 “One woman — I think this was my favourite — said she had to keep the candy jar full.”

How to catch a cheater is one of the questions that plague the minds of those who suspect their partner is playing away. 

Your partner’s mobile phone really is the one place you are most likely to discover your partner is doing the dirty on you. 

Cheating website Ashley Madison has revealed most cheaters use their mobile phone to communicate with an affair partner.

According to real cheaters who use the site to cheat on their loved ones, over half (56 per cent) of survey respondents say they use their personal mobile phone to exchange messages.