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Some infidelity isn't primarily driven by attraction to the new person.
In research examining why people cheat, anger emerged as one of eight major motivations.
This can include feeling mistreated by a partner and engaging in infidelity partly as retaliation.
Researchers found that motives were also connected with characteristics of the affair and its consequences.
That means the third person isn't necessarily the central psychological reason the affair happened.
Sometimes cheating can be directed emotionally at the existing partner.
The new person may become part of a conflict that actually began inside the original relationship.
© Journal of *** & Marital Therapy (2021)