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When Women Choose to Stay With Their Cheating Partners
And why we should be more forgiving of them.
I grew up hearing the popular phrase, ‘Never say never,’ and I was certain there were some things I would never do.
There was a time I was sure I would never smoke, never compromise, never let a man walk all over me — But there I was in certain seasons of my life, doing the exact things I vowed never to do.
Fast forward to the present day, my consciousness of what it means to be a woman and all the ills that attend us in this world is sharper than ever. I see the injustice, the double standards, and one in particular that sticks out like a sore thumb.
I mean, it’s not like when I was younger I didn’t know, but as I said, as an adult, my awareness increased. I saw that the burden of relationships and their sustenance is laid on women’s shoulders, and if a man cheats, though Twitterverse may hold up virtual placards screaming, ‘Leave him!!, still there is an unspoken shame heaped on women who choose to leave. And Ironically, those who stay and work it out are met with shame, as well as praise. But more so shame.
It boggles my mind, the sheer cognitive dissonance of it all.
I admit I, too, was in the same camp, and I wondered why a woman would stay with a…