It is said that a person who has cheated on his wife once will not give up this habit and will cheat again… But it is not easy to say for sure how true this is. While many people believe that a past infidelity in a relationship is a sure sign of future infidelity, this is not necessarily true. But it is absolutely unthinkable that those who cheated once will never cheat again.
A study published in 2017 shed light on the issue by trying to determine the likelihood that cheaters will repeat this act. Researchers studied 484 couples and found that 44 percent of the participants reported that they had been infidel at some point during the relationship.
The analysis revealed that those who had cheated in the past were three times more likely to cheat again than those who never cheated.
“The past is important to relationships,” study author Kayla Knopp said in a statement. “What we do each step of the way in our romantic stories affects the next.”
This may be true for infidelity in some situations, but it’s not a hard rule. “Anyone who cheats once will cheat again,” psychologist Kristin Davin and neuroscientist Heidi Moawad write for Choosing Therapy. “However, serial cheaters are those who seek a sexual partner with a persistent, chronic pattern of infidelity.”
Therapist Ainhoa Plata told El País that although there is no such official term in psychology, there are certain personality traits that can make some people more prone to being unfaithful. These include narcissistic personality disorders.
Plata says, “Narcissistic people use others to feel loved and appreciated. They love challenges and constantly prove to themselves that they are superior to others. That’s why they like to live the passion of falling in love… they feel liked and valued much more than a long-term relationship in that area,” he said. [Then] infidelities fulfill the narcissist’s needs.”
Inés Bárcenas told El País that people with avoidant attachment types or low self-esteem may also be prone to serial cheating, noting that they may perhaps rebel against commitment or seek approval in others. “However, not everyone who is unfaithful has personality disorders or mental problems. Sometimes infidelities can relate specifically to a partner,” she said.
Sure, there could be a whole bunch of other reasons why someone cheats over and over, but the good news is that they can be fixed and “serial cheaters” break their habit.
Bárcenas said, “There is no quick cure. You have to work on identity, self-esteem… it is a very long road that involves discovering and restructuring the connection between oneself and others. But yes, it is possible to be better and better for others,” he concluded.
To summarize, just because a person cheats on their spouse does not mean they will continue to do so. It is a fact that many different situations, from cheating once to cheating repeatedly, depend on many different factors…
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