For some, their cheating affair will go down as the greatest mistake of their entire life, feeling the regret and repercussions of jumping into bed with someone for longer than the whole ordeal was worth.
But for some, cheating was what caused them to step out of their current relationship and realize that perhaps the grass really is greener on the other side.
If you ever wondered who in the world could cheat on their long-term partner and not feel a morsel of regret or remorse, check out the stories from these eight women:
1. It was my way out.
I was dating someone for six years. The idea of marrying him terrified me, but the idea of breaking up with him scared me more. I think cheating on him was my weird and terrible way of ending our relationship. I cheated and told him. The next day, he packed up his stuff and moved out. I'm glad this happened. It was my cowardly way out of a relationship I wasn't really invested in.
— Hannah G., 31
2. I knew he was cheating, too.
I secretly found out my boyfriend cheated one me by one day reading through his text messages. Instead of telling him, I got even and cheated, too. I don't regret that because it made me feel like we both did wrong. He doesn't know what I did or that I know he cheated.
— Sammy K., 22
3. It made us grow closer.
I admitted that I cheated to my boyfriend of four years, and it was such an emotional mess. He was so devastated, and so was I. We ended up breaking up, getting back together and then going to couples therapy to help us rebuild trust. In some weird way, this whole thing made us grow closer, and I'm glad it did because I would never ever do it again.
— Shelby R., 29
4. It scared me.
I wasn't sure how I felt about my boyfriend until I messed up and cheated. I felt like if I told him, I'd lose him forever. That's what scared me into behaving better and taking our relationship more seriously. The thought of losing him scared me straight.
— Olga K., 31
5. It wasn't a big deal.
Everyone cheats — no one talks about it. It wasn't a big deal at all. I did it after dating my boyfriend for three years, and I felt guilty and told him. He was mad, and we temporarily broke up but got back together. I don't regret it because it wasn't, like, that big of a deal.
— Alli B., 27
6. I wanted to see what else was out there.
I've only ever been in these long-term relationships with guys since I was 16. I've been dating someone now for two years, and I'm getting to that stage in life where it's marriage or bust. I wanted to see if he was the one by seeing what else was out there. So I hooked up with a guy I met out at a bar. That was my secret way of seeing there is nothing better out there, so I'm cool staying with who I'm with.
— Dani O., 26
7. It was complicated.
I've cheated on my boyfriend a total of three times. He only knows about one of those times. We can't control our actions, sometimes. When we want to do something badly, we do it, and usually, it is for a reason. So I can't regret what I did, even though I'm not sure why I had an urge to cheat on a person I loved. Humans are complicated.
— Rosa A., 24
8. He'll never find out.
I cheated on my boyfriend of five years during the second year we were together. I was on a friend's bachelorette party cruise, and I got really drunk and hooked up with a random. I never told anybody about, and there's no way my boyfriend will ever find out, so I don't regret doing it.
— Christy G., 27
