It's estimated that 50 percent of husbands will have an affair. I'm not talking about an emotional affair or a fantasy affair but a physical affair. With such a daunting statistic, what are the odds that your husband will cheat on you and how in the world do you keep him on the right side of the stats?
The good news is that not everyone cheats so you have a fighting chance. In my opinion, your relationship with your husband is one of the main influences on whether he stays faithful or not. I don't believe you can stop him if he is hell-bent on cheating. However, I do believe you are one of the main reasons he will not cheat and if you have a close family, kids and in-laws that also can help influence his decision. On the flip side, some people are just down right determined that cheating is worth taking a risk for.
For example, this is a real life recent event that happened in North Carolina. You may have seen the story in the news. There was a guy who owned a towing business and of course he was married, with kids. He was having an affair and for whatever reason, news about the affair was probably going to get out. In an attempt to keep the affair from being made public, he killed his mistress and tried to burn the body by setting a fire. He was unsuccessful and is now in prison, with little chance of every seeing freedom again. This guy had a family, a business and a good reputation in his community. Why on earth did he throw it all away, just for a brief affair?
I would be lying if I told you I knew his reasoning. I do believe that he was not truthful to his wife or to his own self. There is no way, a truthful man wakes up one day, has an affair and ends up killing the person he cheats with. That person has deceived his spouse and many others.
Now, I didn't detail this story to depress you or make it seem like there is nothing you can or should be doing to deter your husband from having an affair. I do think that your goal should not be just to keep him from having an affair. If that is your only goal, you may miss out on having a great marriage. If you focus on having a great marriage, I think you will have a better chance of keeping your husband from having an affair. You will also lower the chances of you having an affair. Oh yeah, you have to also be careful not to fall into the arms or bed of another man. But, that's something we can talk about at another time.
Now back to your hubby, sweetie pie, sugar puff or whatever nickname you have for him. What can you do to keep him on the right side of the 50 % stat?
Fill his voids - Filling his voids means trying to work with him to make him know that he is respected, loved and appreciated. Men are simple individuals and pretty much need to feel like they are relevant. If your husband feels relevant he will more than likely not need to stray to have this void in his life be filled
Give him boundaries - Your husband has to know that you care enough to be concerned about what he does and with whom. Girlfriends are not necessary and neither is his need to hang out with single guys and girls. The easiest way to fall into the arms of another woman is to spend quality time with other women. He needs to know this is unacceptable.
Don't assume he won't - As good a man, as your husband is, don't assume that he wouldn't do it. Remember, the owner of the towing company I referenced above? Just because he is a good, loving, devoted husband and father, doesn't mean he can't fall from grace and have an affair. Be on guard and always assume that he could cheat on you. You don't have to obsess about it. But never, close your eyes and assume he would never cheat.
So how likely is it that your husband will cheat on you? I'll sum it up by saying, it somewhat depends on you. It's not all up to you but you can influence whether he cheats or not. Work on building strong, healthy marriage and the odds of him having an affair will be much lower than that 50% number.
Please take the necessary steps to build a strong marriage to avoid having to deal heal with the ugly, painful experience of dealing with infidelity. Having to learn how to forgive and love your husband again, after he has an affair will be one tall task. If you need help building a better marriage, find some tips here, Help In Marriage.