As a culture, we’re both appalled and fascinated by cheating. It’s one of the most condemned transgressions in a relationship, often thought to sound a death knell for a couple’s chances of staying together. For politicians and people in positions of power, its discovery can force resignations and even end careers. And there are countless hours of music (think Beyoncé’s Lemonade and basically the entire country genre) devoted to unpicking its impact. Why do people do it? Does it only happen in “unhappy” relationships? And is there ever any way back?
It’s pretty rare, then, to hear a famous person stick their head above the parapet and get brutally honest about affairs and what drives them (without resorting to platitudes about “lessons learnt” and now being “stronger than ever”, at least). But in a recent interview with The Times, comedian Mark Watson did just that.
