Lifestyle

20 Unbelievable Excuses Cheaters Made for Their Behavior

LifestylePublished Jul 18, 2023
By Megan Zander
A woman watching a man on his phonedragana991/iStock

All breakups are awful, but finding out that a significant other cheated is the absolute worst. Whether cheaters come come clean on their own or the truth comes to light some other way, finding out that a person you love has been unfaithful is always a punch to the gut. It's normal and natural to wonder why. But no matter what they say, cheaters never have a good excuse.  

Although having trust in a relationship destroyed by a cheater is never funny, some of the excuses cheaters come up with are downright hysterical, and thanks to this genius Reddit thread, we can see them all. 

Some users say the cheaters tried to pretend the whole thing is a giant misunderstanding.

"It wasn't me — they sent it to the wrong number. I don't know them - that's not my phone," they'll claim. If channeling the Shaggy defense doesn't work, they might try to flip things around and blame it all on the innocent party. 

Saying they were driven to cheat or that it's not their fault sure isn't the way to try to save a relationship.  But after some time passes, we realize how lucky we were to get out of a bad relationship. And in hindsight, those once sad, bad excuses are something we can laugh at. 

These excuses cheaters gave for their actions are downright awful. Read them and feel instantly better about a bad breakup.

More from CafeMom: Mom Finds Out Her Husband Is Cheating When Police Show Up To Charge Him With Murder

These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
1/20
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It Runs in the Family
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It Runs in the Family

User moneycomet's significant other tried to claim cheating is hereditary. "She said 'My mom cheated on my dad when they first started dating.'"

2/20
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Thanks for Letting Me Know
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Thanks for Letting Me Know

User Indy_Pendant's finance had a less than stellar reason for cheating:

"It's not really cheating because I don't love you anymore. I just think of you as a really good friend."

3/20
Thanks, Next-placeholder
Thanks, Next
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Thank You, Next

User fatshambles' partner thought it would be a comfort for them to know they're not the only one.

"I've cheated with everyone I've ever been in a relationship with."

4/20
No Touchie-placeholder
No Touchie
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No Touchie

DwightFrank says their ex tried to get off on a technicality. "I wore a condom ... technically, I didn't even touch her!" 

This dude needs to go back to health class for a refresher course. Sex is sex, with protection or without.

5/20
This Is a Test-placeholder
This Is a Test
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This Is a Test

Juice_Campbell says their ex tried to put a positive on the indiscretion.

"I was testing you to see if you'd stay loyal even if I cheated."

If this is a test, the cheater deserves a giant F.

More from CafeMom: Husband Accuses Wife of Cheating — Because She Took 'Too Long' Donating Blood

6/20
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The Blame Game
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The Blame Game

User Radio_Caroline says their cheater tried to blame her for what happened. 

"It's your fault, you drove me to it.

Me: Taking care of our two kids <3y, working full time, breadwinner, doing the household chores ... so yeah, I was kind of angry/tired all the time.

Him: working in "music," going to concerts all the time and sleeping in."

Sorry dude, only Missy Elliot gets to flip it and reverse it.

7/20
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Life Imitates Art
PeopleImages/iStock

Life Imitates Art

ramos1969 had an ex pick one of the worst television couples ever as #relationshipgoals. 

"She said, “You’re always so controlling, telling me what I can and can’t do. ”It reminded me of The Office when Michale Scott said to Jan 'You cheated on me when I specifically asked you not to.'"

8/20
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Cheating Is Cheating
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Cheating Is Cheating

Chaotic Father's then-girlfriend needs to learn how many people it takes for a true threesome. 

 "It was with another girl, so not only should it not count, I should be all excited about it."

9/20
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Beware the Shark
David-Prado/Reddit

Beware the Shark

The middle of a breakup isn't the best time to try to be philosophical. But Radio_Demon's ex tried their best when they said this: “She is a shark and you are a rabbit. She took what she wanted and you let this happen to you. Sharks eat rabbits.”

10/20
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Take Me for What I Am
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Take Me for What I Am

It should go without saying that loving someone for who they are doesn't include being OK with them cheating, but apparently, some people need that spelled out for them. Useful_Amoeba's ex said "Well, you said you love and accept me for who I am with all my flaws! So you also have to accept that I'm sleeping with other women because this is just how I am!"

11/20
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One Foot Out the Door
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One Foot Out the Door

Candorio's former partner used a classic "I got caught" line that makes the cheater look like a fool: "I was going to leave you anyway."

12/20
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Preemptive Strike
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Preemptive Strike

User Animosus5's significant other was living in a dream world.  "I thought you were cheating on me, so I got revenge!"

Maybe just ask next time?

More from CafeMom: TikTok Star Dad Allegedly Installed App on 5-Year-Old’s iPad To Spy on Wife & Killed Her

13/20
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Worst Friend Ever
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Worst Friend Ever

User dawgdoggodoggy's ex chose the worst way possible to handle a fight. 

"We argued that day so he slept with my (at the time) close friend."

14/20
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The Poem Made Me Do It
ateefee/Reddit

The Poem Made Me Do It

User ateefee said their ex tried to claim it wasn't cheating because of ... art?  

"When I caught him he, he referred to a poem that I shared with him a few months prior. He said, 'remember' the great, blue sky of unspecified desire? Remember when I agreed with that line?' He thought we agreed to sleep with other people ... because poetry. "

15/20
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Mature Men
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Mature Men

User jboogietime handled the news of his girlfriend cheating like an #adult. 

"I was dating this girl for about 6 months when she said her boyfriend was coming back from Afghanistan. She never brought him up because she thought we were keeping it casual, it might ruin the mood, and she didn't think I would mind. Found the guy, told him what happened and he was cool. Said he figured it was happening anyways so he wasn't to upset about it."

We really hope these two guys went on to become best buds.

16/20
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A woman watching a man on his phone
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I Have Needs

Cheating is bad. Cheating on a pregnant wife is a whole other level of awful, as Cygnus875 learned first hand. 

"My ex-husband, 21 years ago. I was pregnant with our son. At 5 months I was 3 cm dilated and had already had my labor stopped several times. I was on bed rest and told no sex. He felt completely justified in going out and finding some. He never would concede that it was cheating. It was my job to take care of his needs and he felt completely within his rights to get it elsewhere if I refused."

17/20
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No Job, No Love
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No Job, No Love

Now, I'm not saying kickasstimus's former girlfriend is a gold digger, but...

“'You don’t have a job.'

True. I had been ‘between jobs’ for about 2 months. That was enough for her to toss out the marriage and sleep with her boss. I was ok with it -- she was insane.

Two weeks later, I filed for divorce. One week after that got a job paying double my old salary. Never looked back."

18/20
Worst Excuse Ever-placeholder
Worst Excuse Ever
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Worst Excuse Ever

 User cjldvm says: "After hiring a private investigator and having my husband (at the time) followed and catching him coming out of a hotel with a woman, among other atrocious financial crimes, I asked why he did it and all he could come up with was ‘because you picked at your food.’ My friends and I still joke about that to this day!"

That's seriously the best reason he could come up with?

19/20
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Lonely Boy
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Lonely Boy

Phlyc's ex apparently hasn't ever heard of FaceTime. 

"I went away on a field trip with uni for a week. Came back to find out he'd slept with two other women. His excuse? 'I missed you. I was lonely without you and couldn't cope. You shouldn't have left me alone.' Ugh, there was so much wrong with that man, and that relationship."

20/20
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Written in the Stars
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Written in the Stars

"My horoscope made me do it," is never a good reason to cheat, but MathMXC 's ex tried it anyway. 

"She blamed cheating on Mars being in retrograde."

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