A relationship has many more types of cheaters than you can imagine. It’s not just about sleeping with others behind your partner’s back.
But cheating is much more complex than that. Based on reason, circumstances, personality, and intentions… there is a long list of them.
Let’s dig in to find out about them all and be cautious about them.
23 Types Of Cheaters In A Relationship
Often, couples fight over what is cheating and what’s not. Some men say, “It was only a kiss,” while some women say, “We were just out on dates”.
To understand what’s cheating, you must understand the different kinds of infidelity. The answer will then be clear. So, keep reading to find out!
1. The Self-Destructive Cheater
The self-destructive cheater suffers from an extreme fear of abandonment. By cheating on their partner, they sabotage their relationship before their partner can leave them.
They also believe that if they cheat on their partner, it somehow makes them more desirable in their partner’s eyes. They will go to any lengths to ensure they are not alone.
2. The Wounded Cheater
This cheater is usually a master at playing the victim card. They will get others’ sympathy by showing they are heartbroken, poor, and even traumatized. They attract their prey by invoking their pity.
They’re usually underachievers – since nobody will feel sorry for them if they are well-to-do!
3. The Serial Cheater
This cheater turns cheating into an art form. They have their own list of best pick-up lines and apps where they can score prey. They know how to maintain multiple partners without letting anyone get a whiff of reality.
The serial cheater cheats just because they get a kick out of it. You can never expect them to show any remorse for their actions.
4. The Revenge Cheater
Revenge cheater uses infidelity as a weapon to punish their partner. They are motivated by vengeance, resentment, and anger towards a partner who cheated on them.
They believe in giving people the taste of their own medicine. Even if they might be remorseful, they will always justify their actions by saying their partners deserved it.
5. The Emotional Cheater
This kind of cheater cheats. They feel lonely in their relationship because their partner is emotionally unavailable or a workaholic.
Even though the cheating starts as a friendship, it soon snowballs into something more romantic. This type of cheating does not involve any physical intimacy.
6. The Horny Cheater
This type cheats just because they have a high sex drive. One person can’t meet all their sexual needs, so they turn to others – often multiple people.
Even if they feel remorseful about their actions, their insatiable hunger for sex forces them to cheat.
7. The Online Cheater
Rather than being physically intimate with or meeting the person they are interested in, they use online platforms to do all their dirty work. They might also be called micro-cheaters since they only call, text, or send dirty messages.
8. The Hunter-Cheater
The hunter-cheater loves the thrill of the chase, and they prey on people they perceive to be weaker than them. This is usually someone who works for them, like an employee or a nanny.
They are like serial cheaters since they move from prey to prey, never making any emotional attachments or showing remorse. They are very good at making people fall for them.
9. The Professional Cheater
This cheater travels for work and has lovers in different locations. They have so many long-term relationships that they might even forget who’s their real partner and who’s their sidekick.
Since all their lovers live in different places, this cheater often gets away without facing repercussions.
10. The Opportunist Cheater
This kind of cheater is not manipulative or calculative. They just lack self-control. Rather than having a strategy for cheating, like the serial cheater, they cheat spontaneously. They instantly go for it when they get the opportunity to cheat and see someone they desire.
They usually have stable romantic relationships. It does not matter to them who they are having an affair with. They just want an opportunity to cheat.
11. The ‘By Mistake’ Cheater
The ‘by mistake’ cheater cheats only once in their life. Their affair won’t last long since they end things when they realize they are hurting people.
They will say they cheated by mistake and swear not to do it again. It will be easy to forgive this cheater and even trust them again. Their genuinely remorseful look melts their partner’s hearts.
12. The Nice Guy/Hero Cheater
This is actually one of the more dangerous cheaters on the list. They are really subtle about their actions.
It’s usually a man who acts as the ‘nice guy’ – always checking up and helping his prey (usually women with husbands and kids) in any way. He also tries to find issues in her romantic relationship. He’ll use sweet words to make her fall for his trap.
After he has his fun, he will discard his prey, saying she must give her partner another chance or think about her kids. He’s quick to manipulate his victims to seem as though the cheating happened because she wanted it.
13. The Fetish-Satisfaction Cheater
In this case, the cheater carries a lot of shame inside themselves. They can’t accept their sexual fetishes as normal human life.
They cannot be open to their partner about their kinks. So they satisfy their fetishes outside their relationship. They usually have sex with a hooker rather than having an affair.
14. The Dead Bedroomer Cheater
The dead bedroomer is physically and emotionally unfulfilled in their relationship. They long for a relationship with a lot of passion.
So they jump to the occasion whenever they find some chemistry with someone. They have full-fledged physical and emotional affairs.
Even though they might be remorseful, they will try to justify their actions. They tell themselves that since their spouse does not love them, it is okay for them to cheat.
15. The Compulsive Cheater
Compulsive cheaters are hooked on drama. They prefer to ride the emotional rollercoaster of affairs rather than find joy in a committed and stable relationship.
They say they cannot control themselves. They may show remorse about their actions but rarely mean it.
16. The Narcissistic and Sociopathic Cheater
Sociopathic and narcissistic cheaters cheat repeatedly, have no empathy for their partners, and show no remorse. They have no sense of responsibility and might even blame their partner for their cheating habits.
These cheaters believe they are entitled to as many partners as they want. They manipulate, gaslight, and emotionally damage their partners in the process.
17. The Peacock Cheater
Peacock cheaters become unfaithful to boost their egos. They constantly seek external validation, and cheating is how they feel sexy and special.
They want a taste of the adrenaline rush that comes from sneaking around. The idea of getting caught makes them feel alive as they crave attention.
They look like they have a high opinion of themselves. But peacock cheaters are actually extremely insecure. They try to get people that look more unattainable to feel worthy.
18. The Completer Cheater
Completers say their feelings and needs are too intense to be filled by a single partner. Rather than treating their affairs as a fling, they have strong bonds with all their partners.
They say they have to cheat in order to feel complete.
But don’t confuse them with dead bedroomers… because completers actually love their partners whole-heatedly.
19. The ‘Good Person With Poor Skill’ Cheater
They cheat because they do not have the emotional intelligence to maintain a long and loving relationship.
When they have relationship problems, they run away to someone else rather than having the courage to tackle the situation head-on.
They are basically “good people” who have no intentions of hurting anyone. They want to make their relationship work and may even read books for it, but they do not have the emotional skill set.
They usually have a traumatic childhood, which is the reason for their difficulty.
20. The Caregiving Cheater
The caregiving cheater is in a relationship with someone dying or with a chronic illness. And caring for a chronically ill partner is draining.
They want to stay with their partner ‘in sickness and health.’ So, they don’t demand them to fulfill their needs and seek outside for satisfaction.
21. The Romantically Conflicted Cheater
Romantically-conflicted cheaters have equally intense feelings for two people at the same time.
More often than not, this cheater cheats with a previous lover. They’re usually remorseful and don’t know how to clear their mess!
22. The Obligatory Cheater
This cheater cheats out of an obligation to do so. What does that even mean?
It means they cheat because of their inability to say “NO.”
They are usually people pleasers who will say yes to anyone interested in them.
They’ll be extremely remorseful about their actions. But as usual, they can’t refuse if asked to cheat again.
This obligation may also work if their boss forces them to have sex with them.
23. The Occasional Cheater
Unlike the serial cheater, this person is not always on the lookout for having an affair. Rather, they only cheat on certain occasions, like on a business trip or at someone’s bachelor’s party.
Even though they value their commitment to their partner, they feel that an occasional, short-lived affair won’t harm anybody.
They might be remorseful, but it won’t stop them from cheating again. Rather than coming clean, they feel they have the right to have certain secrets.
A word from ThePleasantRelationship
Cheating is always emotionally damaging for all the people involved. It can be difficult to heal from the wounds and rebuild trust.
So, if you have been cheated upon or cheated on someone and want to stop, don’t be shy to take the help of a professional. Lastly, forgive yourself, forgive the ones who have wronged you, and choose to move on.
