Of course, we want what's best for our family. But when they find a new way to get under our skin, sometimes we can't help but call them out to set things straight.
So after this Reddit user felt like his brother went out of line, accusing his wife of cheating due to the sole reason of wearing more makeup, he told him to stop making baseless accusations and mind his own business.
But the brother doubled down and the two of them got into a heated argument.
This man was supportive of his wife's rediscovered interest in makeup
Image credits: Sean Patrick (not the actual photo)
But his brother said it was a surefire sign of cheating
The whole thing culminated in the man losing his temper and the two siblings having a huge fight
Image credits: Laura Tancredi (not the actual photo)
Image source: throwaway47757954325
Infidelity is too complex to attach to someone's makeup use
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
Adultery is one of the most common reasons for divorce. So identifying it early on could mitigate the devastating effects that come with it.
A set of studies published last year used a machine-learning algorithm to determine whether infidelity is predictable.
One study involved a survey of 891 adults who were asked about their experiences with in-person sexual infidelity as well as online sexual infidelity. The second had a survey of 202 mixed-sex couples who were given the same questions. In both cases, the researchers collected extensive information about people's sex lives, relationships, demographic backgrounds, and personalities.
In answering the question of whether infidelity is predictable, the conclusion was vague: "somewhat."
"They found some factors that were weak predictors and others that were strong predictors, and that it was only by adding a large number of variables together to the algorithm that they could predict infidelity moderately well," Justin J. Lehmiller, Ph.D., who is a Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute and an internationally recognized sex educator, commented on the findings.
Talking about the actual variables the researchers discovered that "the most robust predictors of infidelity lie within the relationship."
Turns out, the demographic (e.g., education level) and personality factors (e.g., attachment style) weren't really giving that much.
"Even gender was, at best, an inconsistent predictor in this research. Being male was a strong predictor of online infidelity in the couple's study only," Lehmiller pointed out. "The fact that gender wasn't among the main predictors overall suggests that the historical gender gap in infidelity may be decreasing (although it's not entirely clear whether women are cheating more now, or if they're just more likely to report it than they were in the past)."
The most consistent predictors across samples and across types of infidelity (in-person vs. online) tended to be characteristics of people's sex lives and relationships. Those who were more likely to cheat tended to:
- Be less satisfied with their relationships overall;
- Have lower levels of sexual satisfaction specifically;
- Have higher levels of sexual desire in general;
- Report less love for one’s partner.
So unless the Redditor's brother knew the details of the couple's bedroom affairs, his makeup argument doesn't sound like a very convincing one.
As the story went viral, its author provided more information on what happened
Many people said the man did nothing wrong
But some thought his response was too harsh and indicative of other, possibly deeper issues
