--- title: What the Huma Abedin-Anthony Weiner Saga Says About Cheating description: And yes, this was cheating canonical: https://time.com/4470997/huma-abedin-anthony-weiner-cheating/ author: Belinda Luscombe article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-29T21:36:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:02:24.099Z article:section: Ideas og:title: What the Huma Abedin-Anthony Weiner Saga Says About Cheating og:description: And yes, this was cheating og:url: https://time.com/4470997/huma-abedin-anthony-weiner-cheating/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcebd05042a1d9eec/698874482dce0107369e6d62/huma-abedin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4626 og:image:height: 2602 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-ABEDIN og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What the Huma Abedin-Anthony Weiner Saga Says About Cheating twitter:description: And yes, this was cheating twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcebd05042a1d9eec/698874482dce0107369e6d62/huma-abedin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What the Huma Abedin-Anthony Weiner Saga Tells Us About Why People Cheat > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=6d1da493-20ea-48d2-b4b1-abeb3fec814d&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Sam Jacobs, Editor-in-Chief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Globally minded knowledge seekers. Readers who turn to journalism to understand the world, with meaningful concentrations among educators, students, media professionals, civic institutions and knowledge workers. ### TIME Inside TIME: key statements * Inside TIME is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Inside TIME is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=6d1da493-20ea-48d2-b4b1-abeb3fec814d&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/subscribe?i=6d1da493-20ea-48d2-b4b1-abeb3fec814d&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is Inside TIME? Inside TIME is a twice-weekly newsletter written by TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs. It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: Huma Abedin and Anthony Weiner Split [Watch (HLS stream): Huma Abedin and Anthony Weiner Split](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/m09M5JhU.m3u8) (1:13)  _Published 2016-08-29. Huma Abedin and Anthony Weiner separate. Elizabeth Keatinge (@ekeatinge) has more._  by [Belinda Luscombe](https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Editor at Large Aug 29, 2016 9:36 PM UTC  Huma Abedin, longtime aide to former US Secretary of State and Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, returns after a break to speak to the House Select Committee on Benghazi on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, October 16, 2015\. Abedin is testifying behind closed doors Friday before a controversial congressional committee probing a deadly 2012 attack on a US mission in Libya, the panel said. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images) Huma Abedin, longtime aide to former US Secretary of State and Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, returns after a break to speak to the House Select Committee on Benghazi on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, October 16, 2015\. Abedin is testifying behind closed doors Friday before a controversial congressional committee probing a deadly 2012 attack on a US mission in Libya, the panel said. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images) Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images  by [Belinda Luscombe](https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Editor at Large Aug 29, 2016 9:36 PM UTC Well, that didn’t take long. A series of sadly predictable events took place Aug. 29. A guy with a history of inappropriate behavior with women, behaved with women in a skeevy way yet again. The skeeviness went public. Again. His wife [announced that she was leaving](http://motto.time.com/4470818/huma-abedin-anthony-weiner/?xid=homepage). People began to [blame the wife](https://twitter.com/maustermuhle/status/770295756511186945). There are some persistent, vexing myths about marital infidelity that always surface when events like these befall some unfortunate power couple. This first of these is always, bizarrely, the belief that husbands cheat because their wives aren’t attractive. Nope. Exhibit A on this front was Beyoncé, whose _Lemonade_ album seemed to suggest that her beauty and talent had not spared her this particular marital stressor. Exhibit B might as well be Abedin. And yet he went behind her back repeatedly—this time, [according to the New York _Post_](http://nypost.com/2016/08/28/anthony-weiner-sexted-busty-brunette-while-his-son-was-in-bed-with-him/), sending a woman inappropriate suggestions and photos, in one of which his 4-year-old son is in the background. Clearly, it’s not about looks. The second myth is that it’s not cheating if there’s no actual sex. Actually, it totally still is. Sure, humans will always be attracted to other good looking humans; that’s normal. Acting on it, that’s the part that’s a betrayal. The Weiner/Abedins have offered us a useful standard. If the exchanges one partner is having were made public, would it make the other partner feel like he or she were cat litter? If so, it’s a betrayal. What is marriage, if not at the very minimum a promise between two people that they can trust each other with the things—children, reputations—that they really care about? There’s a third myth, which is a subset of the first and second, that cheating is inevitable. Mutual attraction may be inevitable, but this is not the same thing. So much of human interaction requires sophisticated cognitive skills: the ability to control our impulses, our understanding of cause and effect, the delaying of gratification. Monogamy is a higher order skill and requires those things in spades. Weiner, whether through illness, a lack of will, or too many after-dinner drinks, has shown an incomplete mastery of such skills. Some studies have actually suggested that [men are much more likely cheat when their wives make more money](http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2012343,00.html?iid=sr-link2) than they do. This may be because, researchers postulate, many men feel a need to reassert their traditional gender role by behaving in a highly traditional male way—chasing women—when they feel their masculinity is at threat. Similarly, Weiner, who may have seen his political star dimming as his wife’s blazed, could have felt the need to act out to reassert, even in his own mind, his status as a powerful male. Another precondition for a lot of cheating is a long absence by one partner. This is an issue among military spouses, movie star spouses, rock star spouses and oil rig-worker spouses. Abedin is working monster hours as Hillary Clinton’s right-hand woman. [She told a reporter recently](http://www.vogue.com/13464218/huma-abedin-family-job-hillary-clinton-campaign-strategist/) that Weiner was “essentially, a full-time dad.” When she’s home, she has to find time to be a mom and a wife. But that’s not a license to act out, nor is Abedin in any way to blame for Weiner’s actions. There are plenty of men, for example, who put in equally brutal hours and yet their wives manage to keep it together. [Less scientific surveys](http://time.com/2998792/satisfaction-monogamish-infidelity-married/?iid=sr-link1) have also shown that having young kids and access to technology make it more likely people will cheat, as amply demonstrated in this marriage. Most annoyingly, Weiner has proved that on this subject Dr. Phil is right: The best predictor of future behavior is relevant past behavior. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4470997/huma-abedin-anthony-weiner-cheating/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4470997/huma-abedin-anthony-weiner-cheating/"},"headline":"What the Huma Abedin-Anthony Weiner Saga Tells Us About Why People Cheat","datePublished":"2016-08-29T21:36:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:02:24.099Z","description":"And yes, this was cheating","url":"https://time.com/4470997/huma-abedin-anthony-weiner-cheating/","keywords":["Living","Marriage","relationships","Cheating"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcebd05042a1d9eec/698874482dce0107369e6d62/huma-abedin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Belinda Luscombe","jobTitle":"Editor at Large","url":"https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcebd05042a1d9eec/698874482dce0107369e6d62/huma-abedin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-ABEDIN","caption":"US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-ABEDIN","creditText":"Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4470997/huma-abedin-anthony-weiner-cheating/","name":"What the Huma Abedin-Anthony Weiner Saga Tells Us About Why People Cheat"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Huma Abedin and Anthony Weiner Split","description":"Huma Abedin and Anthony Weiner separate. Elizabeth Keatinge (@ekeatinge) has more.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/m09M5JhU/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-08-29T19:56:10.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/m09M5JhU.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4470997/huma-abedin-anthony-weiner-cheating/","duration":"PT1M13S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4470997/huma-abedin-anthony-weiner-cheating/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```