People get caught with their pants down (literally) all the time. Adultery is ubiquitous in human societies. It is estimated that in the US, 1 in 3 married men and 1 in 5 married women have an extramarital affair during their lifetime. Not all revelations of infidelity end in divorce.
In a study by researchers Menelaos Apostolou and Andriana Demosthenous, people were asked what would motivate them to forgive their partner’s infidelity. 32 reasons were reported by participants from Cyprus (N=162) which fell into four categories. The most prominent reason was having children, followed by (in order of decreasing prominence) own infidelity, reduced likelihood for future infidelity, and dependency on a partner.
Participants who scored higher in trait Agreeableness were found to be more likely to forgive their partner’s infidelity.
Read more about the study here.