--- 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 ## 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. 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