Why Men Lie About Cheating

The statistics on marital infidelity are staggering; up to 75% of men these days are unfaithful to their wives at some point. It is interesting that these men owned up to this for the survey, but in general, guys want to seem like the guy next door. It seems like there is more unsavory behavior going on than there appears to be on the surface.

It is obvious why men lie about cheating, and, on the other hand, not so obvious. In spite of our sex obsessed society, infidelity is still taboo, even among men who are not yet married, but are dating. Most people would frown upon such behavior, and some would even react with hysteria. Given the fact that society still has some vestige of social mores, one does not need to wonder why men lie about cheating.

On the other hand, since statistics are so high, it is a wonder why more men don’t “come out of the closet” about their illicit affairs. When confronted, many men claim that they “can’t control themselves.” It is clear that many men regret their behavior enough to try to cover it up, and often wish they hadn’t made the decision to engage in such behaviors. One can well wonder why men lie about cheating when we are living in a society where ten step programs and support groups abound. If a man really feels that he does not want to continue having affairs, why doesn’t he own up and get help, which is readily available?

After the Lewinsky scandal, it is a wonder why men lie about cheating, since so many times, they get caught anyway. Even if someone is not as much in the spotlight as the President of the United States, he still might be tempted to grasp for straws when confronted. He might even claim it is not “really” an affair. Unfortunately, one of the reasons why men lie about cheating is that, even if everyone knows what is going on, they would rather pretend it is not happening, and therefore, many men feel that this is tacit approval to continue under a shadow of secrecy.