Researchers have finally confirmed our parents old saying that ‘Once a cheat, always a cheat’, despite us believing that we’re going to be different or be the exception to the rule. We all want to think that the cheating was in the past and all that.
But the new research adds more weight to the idea that leopards can’t change their spots than we’d care to believe. A study found that those who had cheated in their previous relationship were three times more likely to cheat in their next relationship.
And even more scary is that the researchers, who published their findings in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour, found that those who get cheated on are more likely to get cheated on in their next relationship, too.
The study’s authors asked 484 people in relationships about their behaviour, asking them to report any sex they’d had outside of the relationship. They also tracked their previous two relationships, looking at cheating trends that seemed to span across both.
And if you, or your partner, have been previously caught red-handed then you may want to cover your eyes for this next bit. The results showed that if a participant had cheated in one relationship, they were three times more likely to cheat in another one than people who didn’t report any cheating.
Meanwhile, participants who reported being cheated on in their last relationship were twice as likely to get cheated on in their next relationship. The study concluded: ‘Prior infidelity emerged as an important risk factor for infidelity in next relationships.’
But, before you begin ripping his clothes out the wardrobe, it is we fair to point out that this a small study and in no way hard evidence that you’re about to cheated on. But it’s always good to be aware, right?
Photo Credit: Getty
