Why do affairs hurt so badly? I dunno the science behind it, but it breaks your fucking heart in ways that are sometimes unfixable. Is it the betrayal, the lust, the deceit, the lying? Wouldn't it be easier to just resolve it with your partner and have a difficult conversation, get therapy or not, then get a divorce and move on. Unfortunately no, because affairs are not about respect or balance, they are about secrets and lies... Fantasies. The act of lust and carnal desire excite and stimulate us to the core of our beings as humans, enough so to risk a 20 year marriage for a fling that ends in embarrassment. The maths don't math and yet affairs happen everyday. Here are some cheating statistics 16% of married couples admitted to being unfaithful at some point in their marriage. 30% of individuals started cheating on their spouse with someone at work. According to research, 57% of marriages ended in divorce due to infidelity.