Features

• Half of married women may cheat during their lifetime. Image Credit: Andrew C./sxc.hu
  
  While it seems to be more common for men to cheat on their significant others, many women also stray. According to the Associated Press, 14 percent of women admitted to cheating on their partners, as opposed to 22-to-37 percent of men. However, The Journal of Couples and Relationships says about half of all married men and women will have extramarital sex during their lifetime.
  
  

Types

• There are two main types of cheating. Image Credit: yongy/sxc.hu
  
  There are two main kinds of cheating for women. Emotional cheating may occur without actual sexual involvement. This commonly happens with a man who is close to her, such as a co-worker. These days, it may also happen in an online relationship. Physical cheating generally involves some form of intimacy, which can range from flirty touching to sex. A woman who is cheating on her significant other may commit both types of cheating concurrently.
  
  

Function

• Women cheat to get their emotional needs met. Image Credit: geo cristian/sxc.hu
  
  Women are more likely to cheat in relationships where they feel that their emotional needs aren't being met and may also cheat because their sexual needs aren't being satisfied. Common reasons women give for cheating include feeling lonely, feeling bored in the relationship or to increase one's own self esteem. Some women also seem to crave that "new relationship feel" and cheat on their husbands just for the rush of new romance. Others cheat in retaliation to their partner doing the same.
  
  

Effects

• Cheating changes your relationship forever. Image Credit: Lynne Lancaster/sxc.hu
  
  One of the most extreme effects of the disclosure or discovery of female infidelity within a relationship is divorce or ending the relationship. Other effects include loss of trust in the relationship, loss of intimacy and reciprocal cheating by the significant other. Cheating irreparably damages or changes the relationship. In some cases, trust can be regained, but it can take couples therapy and a lot of healing on both sides.
  
  

Identification

• Watch for tell-tale signs that a woman is cheating. Image Credit: geo cristian/sxc.hu
  
  Women having affairs tend to follow similar behaviors. Some of the telltale signs to watch for include a change in appearance, such as new clothes or hairstyles, changing a long-standing routine and changes in sexual habits within the marriage (more or less sex than usual). Women may also slow down on communication, have unexplained absences and change their spending habits to accommodate the affair (spending money on gifts for her lover or on her personal appearance).