Why We Cheat - The Psychology of Infidelity

It doesn’t start with intention. It starts with connection.

This week on The Scarlet Edit, I sat down with relationship and self-love coach Christina Ketchen to talk about something most people avoid - why affairs really happen.

It’s easy to assume cheating is about sex, deceit, or thrill-seeking. But what if, for many people, it’s about something deeper - something familiar?
Christina and I unpack the psychology of infidelity through the lens of core wounds — those early emotional imprints that shape what we find magnetic in others.

We explore:

  • Why most affairs don’t begin with bad intentions

  • The three roles in infidelity and how each carries its own grief

  • How shame and self-forgiveness intertwine

  • What limerence really is — and why it feels so intoxicating

  • The difference between setting boundaries and enforcing them

  • Why we’re sometimes comfortable in sadness and chaos

This episode is about compassion, not judgment, and about reclaiming your self-worth no matter what role you’ve played in love.

🎧 Listen to the full episode

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When a Woman Finally Has Enough

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When Grief Meets a Narcissist