9 main reasons for female infidelity

According to common stereotypes, men usually cheat on their wives and girlfriends. However, studies show that women cheat almost as often as men. And it makes sense, because it takes two to tango, so to speak. However, men and women often cheat for different reasons, and the motivations usually (though not always) match our shared understanding of male and female sexuality. While men are generally comfortable with a pure sexual experience devoid of emotional connection, women are more interested in sexuality that includes (or at least promises) some degree of emotional intimacy. Thus, both men and women commit infidelity, but often do so for different reasons.

Usually, a woman's decision to cheat is driven by one or more of the following factors:

1. Nymphomania

Women can suffer from nymphomania - a problem with sexual or love addiction. In such cases, a woman with unresolved childhood trauma, especially sexual trauma, tries to drown her emotional pain, anxiety and depression with romantic and sexual fantasies and activities. For such a woman, sexual behavior is not entertainment, but comfort.

2. Neglect

A woman may feel unappreciated, ignored and neglected in her primary relationship. If a woman feels more like a housekeeper, caregiver, or breadwinner than a beloved and respected wife or friend, she may seek external validation through relationships and romance.

3. Alcohol problems

A woman may have problems with alcohol or drugs, substances that affect decision-making, which may lead to regrets about sexual decisions (including infidelity).

4. Unrealistic expectations

Some women cheat because they have unrealistic (and therefore unfulfilled) expectations about what their partner and relationship should give them. A woman may think that her partner must fulfill every whim and desire 24/7/365 without realizing that this is an impossible standard. And when her expectations are not met, she may seek satisfaction in the outside world.

5. Low self-esteem

A woman can cheat because she lacks self-respect. She may feel unattractive, or old, or disenfranchised, or whatever, and seek extramarital affairs and sex to bolster her self-image. She may reason like this: "If someone wants to be with me, then I'm worth something."

6. Childhood trauma

Some women cheat because they are secretly re-experiencing or reacting to childhood trauma - anything from abandonment to outright sexual abuse. It is often a way of trying to control or deal with abuse that they were unable to control or deal with as children.

7. Insensitivity

Some women just don't understand what love is. They think that the rush of the first romantic feelings (technically called "limerance") is true love. What these women don't realize is that in a healthy long-term relationship, the neurochemical surge of love is replaced over time by less intense but ultimately more meaningful forms of intimacy and connection.

8. Dissatisfaction

A woman may cheat because she craves intimacy but doesn't get it from her primary romantic partner. More than men, women feel important and connected through emotional interaction and communication. If a woman does not get this need at home, she may seek satisfaction elsewhere.

9. Boredom or loneliness

Some women cheat to alleviate boredom or loneliness. This is especially true for women who stay at home for a long time (perhaps while taking care of small children or even after the children have grown up and left). Such women feel a lack of importance and meaning, so they use relationships and romance to fill the void.

Unfortunately, women who cheat usually do not realize how much their covert sexual and romantic behavior can affect the long-term emotional life of a gullible spouse or partner. Cheating hurts a cheater in men just like cheating in women. Keeping secrets, especially sexual secrets, destroys trust in a relationship and hurts regardless of gender.