Why Do Married Men Stray?

Psychologically speaking, why do married men stray? And why do they insist on lying when they get caught in the tangled web they weave?

A: Marriage vows or the commitment to a relationship do not shut down the physiological and psychological process we call attraction. It is human nature to seek new experiences, to be curious, to enjoy many things and be drawn to many people. It is not uncommon for men or women who are in committed relationships to be physically attracted to people other than their partners.

Men lie about cheating because they do not want to lose the stability of a committed relationship; the woman who loves the bald spot; the woman who knows he soaks his dentures at night and the woman who loves him with or without an erection. Men do not want to lose the women who love every inch of their masculinity, including their flaws and weaknesses.

I think that one of the biggest mistakes that women make in committed relationships is that they lose their feminine mystique. They leave the bathroom door open when using the toilet, stop wearing makeup and stop dressing sexy for their man. Women sometimes forget that the hardest man to keep sexually interested in her is the man she already has. He knows that her breath smells in the morning and the cleavage is nonexistent without the bra.

In essence, men are being visually stimulated by other women who look sexy, and then he comes home to the woman who loves him, but he is not visually or physiologically sexually attracted to her.

A man who is not going to heat will never steer away from his values even if Beyonce stripped naked in front of him, simply because he respects himself. Men are constantly bombarded with images of women in skimpy clothing and come-hither behavior. To a large degree, society gives men conflicting messages about fidelity.

The bottom line is that men men who choose not to cheat typically value, respect and honor their relationship with their partners.