Seven stories on infidelity

Infidelity is one of those topics that most people have a STRONG opinion on and a visceral emotional reaction to. Primarily, that reaction is devastation. It is a deep betrayal, a deep rejection, a wound most people fear. Infidelity is also very common. I’ve collected a bunch of stories (+ one film, + one podcast episode) on cheating. 

“It is not a wonderful thing for a man to leave another woman for you…” This is a devastating piece of prose.

The Cuckold - one man’s story of uncovering his wife’s infidelity. It’s slow and arresting, you come to understand the depth of the deception as he does. He’s a poet - it’s beautifully written, but it’s the pace and rhythm of this piece that meant it burrowed into my brain. 

Cheating Happens, on Death, Sex & Money. One of my favourite episodes of this podcast. Hearing the interviewees’ voices makes infidelity seem so god damn ordinary. The presenter doesn’t judge; her objectivity that makes this work.

The finale of The Good Wife reminded me how women still pay a price for the mistakes of their husbands. They are humiliated when their husbands stray.Ann Friedman examines how Huma Abedin could respond to her husband’s public infidelity in a way that her boss & mentor, Hillary Clinton, could not. 

This is a crazy story telling two sides of the same affair, from the fiance and the “other woman”.

It’s not an affair exactly, but female friendships can be deeply intimate. Sometimes they cross a line.

This, one of my favourite films, is the perfect compliment to the above.