13 reasons why women stay with men who cheat
Often infidelity spells the end of a marriage, but not always. When a woman cheats on her husband, there is a higher likelihood of the marriage ending in divorce than when the man cheats. So just why do women stay with men who cheat? We have sampled reasons given by psychologists, marriage counsellors and studies:
Status
Sometimes women stick to their cheating husbands because they will lose their status otherwise. For instance, if your husband is the deputy president, you are the deputy president’s wife and you are accorded all the perks that come with it. If you divorce him, you lose the status as well and the only tag that remains is, the deputy president’s ex-wife.
Too scared to be lonely
Who wants to be lonely? Sometimes after spending too much time with someone, your lives get entwined. The thought of being lone can be too much.
ALSO READ: 10 signs he is a serial cheater
The children
You will be amazed how many marriages are being held together by children. Thinking of the emotional trauma separation deals children, some women may decide to stay on in a marriage with a cheating husband.
Societal stigma
It is no secret that society still reserves some sort of disdain for women who have left their homes. This stigma and fear of losing the ‘married’ tag could cause some women to stay put despite their husbands’ adultery. Some sections of the society still hold on to the archaic notion that women should keep their families together, however dire the situation gets.
Time
Just the thought of all the time spent in the marriage, that will go to waste if she files for divorce might cause the woman to consider the option of staying.
Emotional investment
Physical ties can be broken, emotional ties are something else. That is why most women even end up making excuses for their cheating husbands, because emotional investments are hard to reclaim.
ALSO READ: Confessions – I wish he would cheat
Resources and money
Most women fear striking out alone when their husbands cheats, especially if they were wholly or to some extent, financially dependent on their husbands.
Starting from scratch
Marriage, family and its routines create some sort of stability in the lives of both the man and woman. Leaving the cheating husband can be hard because it means disrupting the woman’s entire life and starting afresh. This is an undertaking most women may not be ready to try.
ALSO READ: Why cheating hurts so much
Feeling responsible/ guilt
When a woman feels responsible for her husband’s cheating, she might decide to stay with him in order to try and make things right. This line of thought can be shaky, because whether to cheat or not is an individual’s choice, and cannot really be blamed on their partner.
Feeling inadequate
Cheating often leads to feelings of inadequacy. The wife might feel unworthy of a finding another partner in case they leave their husband.
Cheating is the only problem
If apart from the cheating, her husband treats her well and pays attention to her, a woman might be led into looking past her husband’s cheating.
Religion
Most religions frown upon divorces. Some women take that part in the marriage vows that say ’till death to us part’ too seriously and would rather die than leave their philandering husbands.
Norm
Some women believe it is only natural for men to cheat and for woman to stay faithful.
