Women who are cheated on win in long term
Women who are cheated on are better off in the long term, the largest ever study of break-ups, which surveyed 5,705 participants in 96 counties, has found. The research carried out jointly by Binghamton University in the USA and University College, London looked at how happy men and women were before, during and after a breakup. The study showed that if a woman is cheated on, the lessons she learns can be “evolutionarily adaptive” helping her select a much better mate in the future, while the other woman’ ends up with a partner with a track record of being deceptive and a cheat, meaning that she is the long-term loser, according to psychologists.
The study confirmed what many have thought in the past; that while brutally painful, a breakup offers valuable life experience that helps inform our future decisions. It was found that women who “lose” their partner to another woman often experience a period of post relationship grief and turbulence that goes on longer than their male counterparts but eventually leads to a stronger “bounce back” and a higher “mating intelligence” that allows her to better detect cues which may indicate dishonesty and/or infidelity and steer clear before any issues can arise. The “other woman”, conversely, is now in a relationship with a partner who has a demonstrated history of deception and, likely, infidelity.
The lead researcher for the study, Dr Craig Morris, of Binghamton said that in the results women explicitly state that they are “better off now” after being cheated on more than do men. “Women speak of the breakup experience almost exclusively in the past tense whereas men often use the present tense,” said Dr Morris indicating their ability to move on and appreciate the lessons learnt.
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