Why do men have affairs?

Question

My sisters’ marriage recently ended after sixteen years, because her husband had an affair. This came as a massive shock to the entire family, including my sister. For all intents and purposes they were a happy, financially stable and socially active couple. They shared common interests, had a great group of friends and still had a weekly date night! Why do men have affairs? And, I suppose more specifically, why do married men have affairs?

Answer 1

Maybe it was a lack of action in the bedroom? Sixteen years is a long time, maybe the passion had cooled a little, despite the weekly date night?

Answer 2

It could also be a form of some kind of peer pressure? Apparently 77% of men who cheat have at least one close friend who has also been unfaithful with a partner. Maybe the friends talk it up so much that others feel they should give it a try (only to discover the grass is, in fact, not greener on the other side).

Answer 3

I completely disagree with that first answer, as do most experts. ‘The Truth about Cheating’ claims that only 8% of married men cite sexual dissatisfaction as a cause of cheating, whilst another study found 56% of men who have affairs admit to being perfectly happy in their marriages at the time that they started their affair. In fact, the most common reason why do men have affairs, specifically the married men, is that they feel emotionally isolated, because they don’t feel comfortable talking about their emotions with their wives.

Comments

Why do they don’t feel comfortable talking about their emotions with their wives???