--- title: 10 Things That Can Predict Whether Your Spouse Will Cheat on You description: A man is as likely to cheat as he is to experience a flight delay. The probability is even higher when his wife is pregnant.... canonical: https://time.com/3101183/10-things-that-can-predict-whether-your-spouse-will-cheat-on-you/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-12T04:01:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:02:11.194Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 10 Things That Can Predict Whether Your Spouse Will Cheat on You og:description: Men who are risk-takers or easily aroused are more likely to wander. og:url: https://time.com/3101183/10-things-that-can-predict-whether-your-spouse-will-cheat-on-you/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 10 Things That Can Predict Whether Your Spouse Will Cheat on You twitter:description: Men who are risk-takers or easily aroused are more likely to wander. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 10 Things That Can Predict Whether Your Spouse Will Cheat on You > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=5f9541e0-6726-4305-a40f-53e1b983809a&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: A 100-Year-Old Sex Therapist on Having Good Sex, Then and Now [Watch (HLS stream): A 100-Year-Old Sex Therapist on Having Good Sex, Then and Now](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uJFYIrvP.m3u8) (3:13)  _Published 2014-08-20. A practicing sex therapist in New York City, Dr. Shirley Zussman has witnessed everything from the legalization of the contraceptive birth control pill to the AIDs epidemic in the 1980s to the rise of internet porn in the new millenium._ by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Aug 12, 2014 4:01 AM UTC by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Aug 12, 2014 4:01 AM UTC * A man is [as likely to cheat as he is to experience a flight delay](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/nytimescom-a-married-man-is-as-likely-to-chea). The probability is even higher [when his wife is pregnant](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-husbands-more-likely-to-cheat-when-their). Men who are [risk-takers or easily aroused](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-personality-traits-predict-infidelity) are more likely to wander. * The more economically dependent a man is on his partner, [the more likely he is to cheat on her](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-income-affect-who-cheats-in-a-relationsh) (for women, economic dependency had the opposite effect.) Ironically, [men who make significantly more than their female partners were also more likely to cheat.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-income-affect-who-cheats-in-a-relationsh) * Women’s [number of lifetime sexual partners](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-makes-a-woman-more-or-less-likely-to-com) predicted an increased risk of getting some on the side. Wives who wear the pants in the relationship[are more likely to cheat](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-infidelity). * [Years of education](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-makes-a-woman-more-or-less-likely-to-com) reduced the chance a woman would stray. Women who were [more educated than their husbands](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-infidelity) were more likely to engage in sexual infidelity. All ladies are more likely to have affairs with [men who are more educated than their spouse](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/at-what-ages-are-men-and-women-most-likely-to). * Women dissatisfied with their relationship [are more than twice as likely to cheat](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-personality-traits-predict-infidelity); those who feel they are sexually incompatible with their partners are [nearly three times as likely.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-personality-traits-predict-infidelity) * Women are much more likely to have affairs [when they’re young](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/at-what-ages-are-men-and-women-most-likely-to). For men the likelihood [increases with age](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/at-what-ages-are-men-and-women-most-likely-to). Men are more likely to [cheat with younger women](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/at-what-ages-are-men-and-women-most-likely-to). * Men with masculine voices and women with feminine voices are [both more likely to cheat](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-you-predict-infidelity-just-by-hearing-so). Having power and being confident makes both men and women [more prone to straying](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-power-increase-infidelity). * [Number of previous sex partners, impulsivity, relationship happiness and outside options](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-predicts-cheating-in-a-relationship) are all predictors of who will cheat. Infidelity [first occurred after an average of seven years of marriage](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-infidelity). \~50% of individuals[met their extramarital partner at work](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-infidelity). * Some people cheat just [because they’re stressed out](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-people-cheat-because-theyre-stressed-out). About [75 percent of marriages](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-percentage-of-marriages-survive-infideli) survive if the male is cheating, and about [65 percent survive](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-percentage-of-marriages-survive-infideli) if the female is having an affair. * Among individuals engaging in infidelity, [56% of men and 34% of women rate their marriage as “happy” or “very happy.”](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-infidelity) **Join over 90,000 readers and get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** Related posts: [How To Be Resilient: 8 Steps To Success When Life Gets Hard](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/07/how-to-be-resilient/) [What 10 things should you do every day to improve your life?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/what-10-things-should-you-do-every-day-to-imp/) [How To Make Your Life Better By Sending Five Simple Emails](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/make-your-life-better/) _This piece originally appeared on_ [_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/)_._ ### 5 Horrible Habits You Need to Stop Right Now  Do Not Email First Thing in the Morning or Last Thing at Night “The former scrambles your priorities and all your plans for the day and the latter just gives you insomnia,” says Ferriss, who insists “email can wait until 10am” or after you check off at least one substantive to-do list item. Chris Pecoraro—Getty Images  Do Not Agree to Meetings or Calls With No Clear Agenda or End Time “If the desired outcome is defined clearly… and there’s an agenda listing topics–questions to cover–no meeting or call should last more than 30 minutes,” claims Ferriss, so “request them in advance so you can ‘best prepare and make good use of our time together.'” Sam Edwards—Getty Images/Caiaimage  Do Not Check Email Constantly Batch it and check it only periodically at set times (Ferriss goes for twice a day). Your inbox is analogous to a cocaine pellet dispenser, says Ferriss. Don’t be an addict. Tools like strategic use of the auto responder and Boomerang can help. Jetta Productions—Getty Images  Do Not Carry a Digital Leash 24/7 At least one day a week leave you smartphone somewhere where you can’t get easy access to it. If you’re gasping, you’re probably the type of person that most needs to do kick this particular habit. by nacoki ( MEDIA ARC )—Getty Images/Flickr RF  Do Not Let People Ramble Sounds harsh, but it’s necessary, Ferriss believes. “Small talk takes up big time,” he says, so when people start to tell you about their weekends, cut them off politely with something like “I’m in the middle of something, but what’s up?” But be aware, not everyone agrees with this one (and certainly not in every situation), and you may want to pay particularly close attention to norms around chit chat when traveling internationally. Reza Estakhrian—Getty Images ## Transcript [00:00] Sexual pleasure is only one part of what men and [00:03] women want from each other. They want intimacy, they [00:07] want closeness, they want understanding, they want [00:10] comfort, they want fun, and they want somebody who [00:14] really cares about them beyond going to bed with [00:16] them, and I think people are always seeking that. In [00:20] every generation. [ MUSIC ] [00:23] My name is Shirley Zussman. I just reached a hundred [00:27] years of age, and I am a practicing [00:32] sex therapist. I was invited with my husband [00:36] to a lecture in New Jersey, in 1966. Masters [00:41] and Johnson were the speakers. No body knew about [00:43] them. Human sexual response had just been [00:46] published, what I saw was a couple [00:51] who will say that people had problems in an area [00:55] in their lives that was very important and they were [00:58] recognizing that it was all not just. Glamorous and [01:01] wonderful to be sexual. One had to almost had to [01:05] learn how to be a good partner and to endure the [01:08] pleasure not only for yourself but for each other. And I [01:11] thought we can do that. Why can't we do that? And we [01:15] applied for training with Masters and Johnson at that [01:17] time. The patients that came to us were people who [01:21] read the paper. The only way they do anything about [01:25] the work that was being done there. And the problems [01:28] they came with, was somewhat different than the [01:30] problems they come with today. Mostly, women came [01:33] because would put out orgasmic, they didn't know how [01:36] to achieve an orgasm, but they wanted one. It [01:40] was so over that ,. Goal they had for themselves and [01:43] how do I get there. That was one Masters and [01:47] Johnson's contribution that there was a relatively [01:51] simple way to start learning about your body. In [01:55] other words, get, get to know your, who you are [01:58] sexually and physically and that was. And [02:03] encouragement for masturbation for learning what [02:06] makes you feel good. I [02:12] see a big change in the we view casual sex. [02:17] In the 60's I think it was not just casual it was frantic. [02:21] I'm shocked at the lack of connection with people; [02:25] because of iPhones, even I love my iPhone. There [02:30] is so much less actual physical connection, there's [02:34] less touching, there's less talking, there's less holding, [02:38] there's less looking, [ INAUDIBLE ]. People get pleasure [02:41] from looking at each other. But the most common [02:43] problem, I would say, in the sex therapy [02:49] that I live in, is a lack of desire. You have to look [02:53] at your priorities. You have to decide what is important [02:57] to make you feel good about yourself and your life. [02:59] And to help make your partner feel good and to [03:03] establish something that is gratifying that really fills [03:07] a need that we all have to be close to somebody. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3101183/10-things-that-can-predict-whether-your-spouse-will-cheat-on-you/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3101183/10-things-that-can-predict-whether-your-spouse-will-cheat-on-you/"},"headline":"10 Things That Can Predict Whether Your Spouse Will Cheat on You","datePublished":"2014-08-12T04:01:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:02:11.194Z","description":"A man is as likely to cheat as he is to experience a flight delay. 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