The Research Says...

What's he in for? He said he was just looking for a good time.
Where are they taking him? To be hanged. Apparently, he had a VERY good time.

People routinely say that an affair wrecked someone's marriage. The research says otherwise.

Affairs are typically a means to an end by someone unhappy and looking for a way out.

"The Other Woman" (or man, as the case may be) is almost never a good long-term match for the person in question. Instead, they are someone who fills in the gaps on what their current relationship is missing.

The person uses them for comfort or a crutch or however you wish to say that during the transition out of their marriage (or primary relationship). Within a year, that relationship to the "other" man/woman typically ends as well and the individual then seeks someone more suitable as a long-term partner for themselves.

When someone has an affair, they typically convince themselves that THIS is the greatest love ever because they are taking a risk and need to feel it is justified somehow. It almost never turns into happily ever after. That's almost always a delusion.

If anything, it's sort of a case of "No spice like hunger." The affair fed some unmet need. Once that need gets met, the fire goes out.