Deciphering the Reasons behind a Man's Wandering Eye (2024)

In this Article

  • What Drives a Man to Cheat

Men with wandering eyes can cause a lot of emotional pain to their wives. Relationships can end and marriages can sour because of this one habit. There are a lot of reasons that drive men to cheat, and knowing what they are, can potentially help keep your marriage intact.

Men who have wandering eyes seem to be becoming common these days. In a relationship, this can signal disaster. But just what leads a man to stray or his eyes to wander? Studies have proven that there are some basic reasons why husbands cheat. Knowing what they are, can definitely make you aware of the threats and hopefully keep your marriage safe.

What Drives a Man to Cheat

1. A Disturbed Relationship

A marriage that’s full of fights and arguments is one of the primary reasons that pushes a man to cheat or his eyes to wander. Many men don’t like to be put in a defensive mode and prefer to flee from confrontations. Further, to reduce the stress they may find solace in glancing and fantasizing about other women. We would say, to keep your man’s eyes from wandering, you should dwell deeper and find the root cause of the disturbance in the relationship. Are you dominating? Or too submissive? Or you have time just for the kids and not for your husband. Has your sex-life hit rock bottom. These are the type of questions that you should be striving to find an answer for. Make yourselves heard without fighting, understand each other and resolve simmering issues in-house. It’ll leave him with no reason to seek comfort elsewhere.

2. Lack of Respect

Though your man doesn’t expect to be treated as your superior, he does expect some basic respect, love and care from you. If a man feels that his wife doesn’t respect him enough, he could go on the lookout for a woman who does. While some may not go the extent of having an extra-marital affair, they may just drift on to the wandering eye route to release the pent up frustration. In summation, it can be said that lack of mutual respect is another reason why men cheat in marriage. So, show some respect to the man in your life and bring his pair of eyeballs back on you.

3. Emotional Dissatisfaction

Men who cheat on their wives have admitted that the lack of emotional fulfillment in a relationship led them to look elsewhere for the same. When a woman is bogged down by the daily grind of a job, kids and other humdrum household chores, she hardly has much time left to spend with her husband. This can leave her man feeling left out and unwanted to the point where he feels he needs to satisfy his emotional needs elsewhere. If not, at least he’ll look at other women, who he feels has the potential, to fulfill his basic emotional hunger for love.

Deciphering the Reasons behind a Man's Wandering Eye (1)

4. Boredom

Boredom in a marriage is yet another reason that drives a man’s eye to wander. Let’s face it: your pregnancy graced with all its morning sicknesses and mood swings, followed by a draining delivery, and the post-pregnancy out-of-shape body, while raising a baby – all this is cumbersome. And ultimately takes a toll on your relationship. If the two of you don’t take the pains to spice things up every now and then, you’ll get bored of each other and your marriage. Some men may develop a wandering eye just for the sake of a short-lived hysteria. This act may be the result of their make-believe urge to relive the early days of their relationship, where there were little responsibilities and maximum fun.

5. Sexual Experimentation

Many men are more than happy to lead a monogamous life with their wives. But there are a few who aren’t content with the practice of monogamy and look for sexual excitement elsewhere, just for the sake of it. They may feel that cheating on their wives or at the very least practicing a wandering eye makes them sexually powerful, which they find extremely gratifying.

These are some of the common reasons that lead men to cheat. While there’s a lot you can do to keep your marriage alive and kicking, sometimes things can get out of your control. Don’t blame yourself, but acknowledge that you’ve done the best you can. It takes two people to make a successful marriage, so work towards having a loving relationship and add plenty of excitement to keep the passion ignited.

Deciphering the Reasons behind a Man's Wandering Eye (2024)

FAQs

Deciphering the Reasons behind a Man's Wandering Eye? ›

A marriage that's full of fights and arguments is one of the primary reasons that pushes a man to cheat or his eyes to wander. Many men don't like to be put in a defensive mode and prefer to flee from confrontations. Further, to reduce the stress they may find solace in glancing and fantasizing about other women.

What does it mean when a guy has wandering eyes? ›

Having a wandering eye could include blatantly checking out someone other than your partner(s) or flirting with them. It could also include admiring someone's physical beauty, commenting on them, or touching them. Some people also use the term “wandering eye” to mean you simply find others attractive.

What is the psychology of a wandering eye? ›

When a person has a 'wandering eye,' it means looking and having sexual thoughts about people other than their current romantic partner. It may include behaviors such as overtly evaluating and appreciating someone's physical attractiveness or even outright flirting with people who are not their romantic partners.

Is a wandering eye a red flag? ›

Dating someone with a wandering eye can be more than a red flag—it can be a deal-breaker. Thriving relationships demand commitment, and a crucial aspect of that commitment is giving your date your undivided attention. If you're serious about the success of your relationships, look for a partner focused on you.

Is it normal for my boyfriend to have a wandering eye? ›

It's normal for men to have wandering eyes—yes all men darling—it's in their nature but shouldn't be used as an excuse for inappropriate behaviour.

Should I be upset that my husband looks at other females online? ›

If your husband is consistently looking at other females online, it may be a sign of deeper issues within the relationship. Communication and trust are key in any partnership, so addressing the problem openly and honestly is crucial.

How to handle your man looking at other woman in a relationship? ›

Tell him how it makes you feel.

It is crucial that he knows how he is making you feel when he checks out another woman. Try framing your discussion in terms of "When you X, I feel Y." Tell him when he looks at women's bodies or makes inappropriate comments, it makes you feel frustrated, jealous, angry, or disrespected.

Is it normal for men to look at other girls? ›

Men staring at other women or checking out women can be seen as a common thing. With the percentage of beautiful women out there, it's hardly impossible not to admire other people. The issue comes when, as a man, you can't control the way you check out other women, especially in the presence of your woman.

What is micro cheating in a relationship? ›

The term micro-cheating refers to small breaches of trust in a relationship that don't pass the threshold into a physical affair. For example, someone may leave their wedding ring at home when they go out alone or secretly chat with an ex-partner online.

How to deal with a man with wandering eyes? ›

So feel your husband out and let him know how bad his wandering eye makes you feel. If he cares about you enough, he can change this habit. It might not be easy, but if you make him aware when he is doing it, he can keep tabs on it.

What are the six red flags of dating? ›

Six dealbreaker factors emerged in a sample of American college students (N = 285, 115 men). We called these factors Gross, Addicted, Clingy, Promiscuous, Apathetic, and Unmotivated. Women, and those having more mate value and less interest in casual sex rated dealbreakers less desirable.

How rare is a wandering eye? ›

This is a relatively common type of strabismus in both children and adults. The amount of deviation varies widely from person-to-person.

What helps with a wandering eye? ›

Your doctor might recommend:
  • Corrective eyewear. Glasses or contact lenses can correct problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism that result in lazy eye.
  • Eye patches. ...
  • Bangerter filter. ...
  • Eyedrops. ...
  • Surgery.

Can you fix a wandering eye? ›

In a word, yes! People with strabismus—the medical term for eye misalignment—whether they have an eye that turns in (esotropia) or wanders out (exotropia), or an eye that goes up (hypertropia), don't have to just "live with it." In almost all cases, they can be treated successfully.

What is the wandering eyes quote? ›

Wandering eyes lead to a wandering mind which leads to a wandering heart. Wandering eyes wander because they are allowed to wander.

Why does he look away when our eyes meet? ›

He might be avoiding eye contact if he's attracted to you or if he's working up the courage to ask you out. He might also be avoiding eye contact if he's in a bad mood or feels guilty about something. Or, not making eye contact might just be a normal part of his personality.

Why does a guy keep looking at me in the eyes? ›

Guys experiencing attraction often feel compelled to keep looking at you while in the same room. He could even be mentally preparing to approach you and introduce himself! If he's attracted to you, he'll also purposefully catch your eye and smile while maintaining eye contact with you.

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