Cheating is scummy. I don’t care what your reasons are for doing it. If you cheat on someone you claim to love, you are scum, especially if you only stopped because you were caught. You didn’t make a mistake. You made a series of decisions resulting from your lack of restraint, and broke your partner’s trust. But, there’s a brand of cheating that makes a cheater’s actions even less forgivable.

Specifically, I’m talking about people who cheat with members of their partner’s family. A guy sleeps with his wife’s sister. A woman gets knocked up by her boyfriend’s cousin. Someone’s married dad is perving on a barely-legal step-granddaughter. If a cheater goes after a member of their partner’s family, more layers of betrayal are added to the situation, and will hurt the non-cheater even more.

Taking all that into consideration, why would people choose to fuck someone their partner is related to?

Reasons People Cheat

The reasons tend to differ between men and women, as well as between age groups and marital status. But, from my research on the topic, I discovered the following:

• Men and women often cheat as a result of the ego boost related to the attention they get, but why the ego boost happens is different
• An unfaithful man gets the ego boost from the knowledge that someone attractive is attracted to them
• An unfaithful woman gets the ego boost because she felt her partner was not giving her the attention or emotional response she wanted

A relative of the non-cheater may be giving some attention or paying compliments that the cheater hasn’t gotten in a while. Maybe they’re looking at the cheater with a lust they haven’t seen since the relationship started. Again, it doesn’t matter the reason. Don’t fucking cheat. Communicate like a fucking adult, or leave. But, I digress.

With Whom People Cheat

People are most likely to cheat on their partners with someone they or the partner knows well. Most likely, it is a co-worker or best friend. This is because they are more willing to trust this person as opposed to some rando on Tinder. There is also evidence to suggest they choose affair partners they already have a friendship with, so they don’t need to go through as many stages in dating. This way, they can jump to the next level sooner, even if they are strictly keeping things sexual.

And The Relative Goes Along With It Because…

There are instances where Relative hooks up with Cheater, but doesn’t know about the relationship with Non-Cheater. But, when it comes to Relative knowing what the situation is, Relative’s reasons for proceeding can vary wildly. Sometimes, it’s because they just want sex, and can push the Cheater away without consequence (sort of). Other times, it’s because they are lonely and desperate, and crave any attention, regardless of who they are.

Then, you get people who just want to make others miserable, and will fuck their sister’s boyfriend to do it.

In conclusion, the reason a cheater chooses someone related to their partner for an affair differs from person to person, and even between age groups. Speaking generally, they go after people who are already close in order to cut out the middle man of courtship. The relative goes along with the infidelity for their own reasons, but it doesn’t change the fact that they are playing a part in the betrayal. Both parties made their decisions to indulge themselves at the expense of someone they claim to care about. They should be prepared for any consequences that follow those decisions, whether that be shunning by friends or being cut out from the non-cheater’s life.

And for the affair partners out there? Bagging your relative’s sloppy seconds isn’t the flex you think it is.