It you follow Hollywood tabloids (fess up), you probably think everyone us always cheating on each other all the time. And the sad truth is, you wouldn't be so far off from the truth.
There are many varying statistics about cheating, but it's been pegged at somewhere between a rather startling 40-70% for men and 45-55% for women. In both the real world and in Hollywood, cheating is so prevalent that admitting to an affair today is hardly more scandalous than admitting to Botox injections.
Here are some of the most high-profile Hollywood affairs of recent months—and what they reveal about real-world desires to stray.
Hollywood Glitz, Glam and Scandal
To take but one recent example, let's consider the case of Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott. The pair fell in love with each other while shooting a movie together. The problem? At the time, they were both married to other people. When Dean admitted to cheating on Tori in 2013, they chose (but of course!) to capitalize on their situation and film a reality show about the decline of their marriage.
Eddie Cibrian and LeAnn Rimes also met shooting a movie together while both married to other people—and Cibrian, like McDermott, has since been accused of straying (though he's never publicly admitted to an affair). They too have a reality show, though it's more a nauseating celebration of their love than a "raw" look at a crumbling relationship.
(It's also worth noting that both of these couples met while shooting Lifetime movies in Canada. While current statistics are unavailable, it can be concluded that if you are shooting a Lifetime movie in Canada, you'll probably have an affair. Hey, it's cold up north and people need to do what they can to stay warm.)
And let's not forget the affair between Smash director Michael Morris, husband of actress Mary McCormack, and American Idol alum Katherine McPhee. As a journalist, I need to be completely candid and disclose that I rented Morris an apartment a few years ago in New York when I was a real estate agent, and while he was very professional and didn't flirt with me at all, I won't deny his British accent was very seductive. Nor, apparently, can McCormack, because according to news reports, they are staying together. However, McPhee filed for divorce from her husband Nick Cokas.
OK, so now that we have a grip on recent cheating scandals of the rich and famous, let's dive into how similar situations shake out in the "real world."
The Truth About Infidelity
What really occurs after cheating? In truth, only 31% of couples stay married after an affair. So situations like those of McCormack and Morris—and for now, Spelling and McDermott—aren't actually that common.
Even more rare is a marriage between a man and his mistress, a la Spelling/McDermott and Cibrian/Rimes. Indeed, this happens a scant 3% of the time.
There is one interesting real-life lesson from Hollywood affairs, though: what it says about why people cheat. Men in Hollywood often stray from partners who are A-list beautiful (this is the woman Eddie Cibrian cheated on; this is the woman Michael Morris cheated on). Outside Hollywood, this also holds true. In one survey, for instance, only 12% of men said their mistresses were more attractive than their wives.
What does this teach us? Cheating is tied up in a lot of things—from personal issues and relationship issues to the simple availability of a tantalizing forbidden tryst—and it's wrong to assume that those being cheated on are necessarily sexually undesirable.
Of course, none of this to say that all relationships are doomed. But the truth is that an affair is easier than couple's therapy and cheaper than a divorce. And for some on the Hollywood D-list, it's a great way to resurrect a career.
Image of Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott: Flickr
