On Cheating and Betrayal

I have always wondered why men cheat on their wives, particularly when their spouses are charismatic, famous, and beautiful to boot! These men seem to have such tawdry, despicable, sleazy affairs with empty-headed bimbos and floosies who can't hold a candle to their much accomplished, capable wives. What were these men thinking, if they were thinking at all, or perhaps were they "thinking with their penises" and not their brains, as Alan in Two and a Half Men would put it?!!? Betrayal by the spouses has been an age-old pursuit, and I include women here as well who are equally guilty of the crime. However, it is a well-known fact that more men are being caught with their pants down these days! In the modern days, this seems to have gained so much momentum that if one were not to cheat on their spouses or partners, they would be considered an anomaly!

Interestingly, marital infidelity seems to be universal and ubiquitous. A colleague of mine from an Asian country once told me that men cheating on their wives was "a national pastime" in his country! Another student of mine from a European country said it was a given that men regularly and consistently cheated on their wives in her country, but she was happy as long as her husband returned home to her. She also said she didn't care if her husband cheated on her with another woman because SHE was the one who got her husband's pay check. Interesting, eh? Some women turn a blind eye to their spouses' betrayal, partly because of the children and partly due to lack of financial independence, and they silently tolerate the sordid affairs because they do not want to rock the marital boat!

When it comes to celebrities, it is almost like a disease that causes famous marriages to come apart at the seams. People certainly expect the marriage to fail, and are not surprised when it eventually does. When Jeff Bridges won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in Crazy Heart and thanked his wife Sue, for her support and 33 years of wedded bliss and harmony, he won the admiration of millions of viewers for his long-lasting marital relationship almost as much for his performance in the movie. 33 years is an eternity in Hollywood, where relationships last less than 33 months, and serial daters change their partners every 33 days!

Not to mention the politicians who seem to be famously biting the dust these days with their secret dalliances! Bill Clinton came dangerously close to impeachment, Gov. Sanford of South Carolina was supposedly hiking the Appalachian Trail while secretly visiting his mistress in Argentina, John Edwards who was quite close to a presidential nomination has admitted to fathering a child with his videographer on the campaign trail, and the list goes on and on.

What sordid lives we seem to lead, my friends! I have deliberately left out Tiger Woods and Jesse James in this post, because their salacious sexting is worthy of yet another blogpost, I think! Why is sex so addictive that it leads to people throwing away their marriages so mindlessly? I leave the thinking to all of you!