Husbands who earn less than their partners are up to five times more likely to
cheat, the report found. Researchers believe that some men seek out affairs to compensate for the
emotional pain that comes with losing their traditional breadwinner status.
With recent figures indicating that more than 2.7 million British women earn more than their partners, such infidelities are becoming increasingly common.
Controversially, the Cornell University study also found that campaigns to close the wage divide between men and women may have a destabilising effect on marriage.
The secret to a loyal and lasting relationship is for women to earn 25 per cent less than their husbands, the researchers established. As that gap narrows, it becomes more likely the man will be unfaithful.
But the image of the underachieving husband pushed into an affair by the success of his high-flying wife is only part of the picture, the researchers found.
Men who earn significantly more than their wives are also more likely than average to take a mistress, because - like the billionaire golfer Tiger Woods, who admitted "transgressions" with several women while married - they have the freedom and money to sustain a surreptitious affair.
Source: Telegraph.co.uk | Matthew Moore
Comments |  RSS |
|
