History Main / SympatheticAdulterer

* ''[[Webcomic/Alfie2010 Alfie (2010]]'': Vera and her husband Derrick cheat on one another. While Derrick's affair with his "fishing buddy" is not treated with any particular sympathy, Vera's only comes about due to years of resentment towards Derrick and the other man. When she finally starts sleeping with someone else, Derrick is actually happy for her, which only frustrates her more. After Vera leaves her village [[spoiler:she starts sleeping with her guide, Cillian. As the two open up about their failed relationships, Vera finally acknowledges that even though she can't have the ideal family life she planned with Derrick, she can be happy with someone else, and starts a proper relationship with Cillian]].
* ''[[Webcomic/HomestuckBeyondCanon]]'': Rose had a strictly physical affair with Jade for the sole purpose of being a surrogate for Jade's child. Her wife doesn't care about the sex, only that Rose and Jade (who was a mutual friend) deceived her and kept the child's existence secret for fifteen years, and makes it clear that despite her anger their marriage is in no way jeopardised by the reveal.

* In ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'', Stolas cheats on his wife Stella with Blitzo, an Imp. Their marriage was arranged when they were children purely for the purposes of producing an heir, and even before the affair, Stella was downright emotionally abusive and made the marriage miserable no matter how much Stolas tried to make things work. Stolas even goes as far to say he would regret cheating on her, but they both know she wasn't actually hurt beyond her pride and ego. Stella also goes AxeCrazy after she finds out and [[spoiler: tries repeatedly to have Stolas killed, only calling off the assassination after her brother points out that since their daughter Octavia is now of age, Stolas's whole estate would go to her and Stella would get nothing]].

* Subverted in ''Series/BreakingBad'' season 3. Walter tries to put the moves on Principal Carmen after Skyler sleeps with her own boss, Ted Beneke, out of spite at Walter for his drug manufacturing. However, while Ted and Skyler already had UnresolvedSexualTension between them, there wasn't even a hint that either Walter or Carmen were attracted to one another, so his out-of-the-blue attempt to seduce her just comes across as weird and pathetic. Rather than turning the cheating into a mutual affair to get back at Skyler, he is fired from his job as a teacher.

* OlderThanPrint: In ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'', Francesca gives a powerful and romantic lament of her damnation that moves Dante to faint in sympathy. As the first of the evil damned to speak, this sets up the conflict Dante goes through about the justice of damnation.

** In ''Literature/TristanAndIseult'', Isolde's affair with Tristram is Pay Cheating Unto Evil and Arranged Marriage, since not only did she not want to marry Mark, but Mark's kind of terrible.

* In ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'', Stolas cheats on his wife Stella with Blitzo, an Imp. Their marriage was arranged when they were children purely for the purposes of producing an heir, and even before the affair, Stella was downright emotionally abusive and made the marriage miserable no matter how much Stolas tried to make things work. Stolas even goes as far to say he would regret cheating on her, but they both know she wasn't actually hurt beyond her pride and ego. Stella also goes AxeCrazy after she finds out and [[spoiler tries repeatedly to have Stolas killed, only calling off the assassination after her brother points out that since their daughter Octavia is now of age, Stolas's whole estate would go to her and Stella would get nothing]].

* In ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'', Stolas cheats on his wife Stella with Blitzo, an Imp. It's heavily implied that their marriage was arranged, but what puts it in this folder is [[spoiler:TheReveal that Stella is evil enough to hire a hitman to assassinate Stolas at the Harvest Moon Festival, even going as far as to demand his death right when her husband is sitting across the table!]] Later episodes show that even before the affair, Stella was downright emotionally abusive and made the marriage miserable no matter how much Stolas tried to make things work. Stolas even goes as far to say he would regret cheating on her, but they both know she wasn't actually hurt beyond her pride and ego.

* An UnintentionallySympathetic example is Therese from ''ComicStrip/ForBetterOrForWorse'', who according to a pair of GossipyHens was seeing someone before divorcing her husband [[CreatorsPet Anthony]]. However, this gossip is the ''only'' time her having an affair is ever mentioned. Even if one accepts it as truth, it can still be viewed as Pay Cheating Unto Cheating, as Anthony spent most of his marriage lusting after Liz, and the most obvious effort he ever put into making things work with Therese was pressuring her to have a child before she was ready, under the belief that BabiesMakeEverythingBetter... and that once the kid was born, she'd immediately give up her career in order to raise them. Despite Anthony promising that ''he'' would handle childcare once she'd recovered from the birth. And then getting upset when she expected him to ''keep'' said promise.

* Discussed in ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'', where Desdemona and Emilia have a conversation about women cheating. Desdemona is innocent enough that she doesn't seem to understand ''why'' anyone would cheat, while Emilia (who's married to the abusive Iago) comments that women tend to be driven to cheating because of the inequality in marriages; women couldn't divorce abusive, cheating, or neglectful husbands, so naturally they'd seek love elsewhere.

* ''Webcomic/{{Alfie}}'': Vera and her husband Derrick cheat on one another. While Derrick's affair with his "fishing buddy" is not treated with any particular sympathy, Vera's only comes about due to years of resentment towards Derrick and the other man. When she finally starts sleeping with someone else, Derrick is actually happy for her, which only frustrates her more. After Vera leaves her village [[spoiler:she starts sleeping with her guide, Cillian. As the two open up about their failed relationships, Vera finally acknowledges that even though she can't have the ideal family life she planned with Derrick, she can be happy with someone else, and starts a proper relationship with Cillian]].

* An UnintentionallySympathetic example is Therese from ''ComicStrip/ForBetterOrForWorse'', who according to a pair of GossipyHens was seeing someone before divorcing her husband [[CreatorsPet Anthony]]. However, this gossip is the ''only'' time her having an affair is ever mentioned. Even if one accepts it as truth, it can still be viewed as Pay Cheating Unto Cheating, as Anthony spent most of his marriage lusting after Liz, and the most obvious effort he ever put into making things work with Therese was pressuring her to have a child before she was ready, under the belief that BabiesMakeEverythingBetter... and that once the kid was born, she'd immediately give up her career in order to take of it. Despite Anthony promising that ''he'' would handle childcare once she'd recovered from the birth. And then getting upset when she expected him to ''keep'' said promise.

[[folder:Video Game]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'', many of the main characters are cheaters, and all are various degrees of sympathetic. Protagonist Vincent was both being pressured to moving forward with his legitimate relationship when he didn't think he was quite ready, and how willing the affair was on his part depends on the player (he will always at one point resolve to quit cheating and make up with his original girlfriend Katherine, which may or may not work out). Todd and Archie both have {{Freudian Excuse}}s (Todd is a WellDoneSonGuy whose dad happens to be an abusive cheating jerk, and Archie has issues with women because [[RapeAsBackstory his mother raped him when he was a kid]]), and if given encouragement, will sort their issues out and quit cheating. Steve is cheating on his wife, but he really does love his mistress ([[spoiler: Catherine]]) and suffers SanitySlippage when he thinks she doesn't love him back.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'' has Cigyun, who cheated on her husband Duke of Velthomer Victor with Prince Kurt of Grandbell, because Victor was a violent drunk who had many mistresses and mistreated her. The guy even has raped, under the influence of alcohol, Cigyun's personal maid (who as a result gets pregnant with the future Azel, one of the main playable characters). Kurt was at first sympathetic with Cigyun's situation and was supporting her, but along the way, they fell in love with each other. This angered Victor as he denounced the two and committed suicide, and Cigyun eventually ran away back home to the Spirit Forest in Verdane, where she [[DeathByChildbirth died giving birth]] to Kurth's daughter, Deirdre.

* In ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'', Stolas cheats on his wife Stella with Blitzo, an Imp. It's heavily implied that their marriage was arranged, but what puts it in this folder is [[spoiler: TheReveal that Stella is evil enough to hire a hitman to assassinate Stolas at the Harvest Moon Festival, even going as far as to demand his death right when her husband is sitting across the table!]] Later episodes show that even before the affair, Stella was downright emotionally abusive and made the marriage miserable no matter how much Stolas tried to make things work. Stolas even goes as far to say he would regret cheating on her, but they both know she wasn't actually hurt beyond her pride and ego.

* ''Webcomic/{{Alfie}}'': Vera and her husband Derrick cheat on one another. While Derrick's affair with his "fishing buddy" is not treated with any particular sympathy, Vera's only comes about due to years of resentment towards Derrick and the other man. When she finally starts sleeping with someone else, Derrick is actually happy for her, which only frustrates her more. After Vera leaves her village [[spoiler: she starts sleeping with her guide, Cillian. As the two open up about their failed relationships, Vera finally acknowledges that even though she can't have the ideal family life she planned with Derrick, she can be happy with someone else, and starts a proper relationship with Cillian.]]
* ''Webcomic/OneHundredAndEightyAngel'': [[spoiler: Xavier]] cheats on Sam because of the fact that he is gay and can't have feelings for her. [[spoiler:Sam]] is also cheating on [[spoiler:Xavier]] with [[spoiler:Lilith]] because [[spoiler:Sam]] is demisexual and doesn't have feelings for him either. Both [[spoiler:Xavier and Sam]] know about each other's affairs and don't mind because they are both forced into an arranged marriage with each other against their will.

* ''Webcomic/{{Marionetta}}'': Dotty, when she was alive, cheated on her husband with Bob. She didn't actually like her husband, he was just the least bad of the candidates she had to pick from when she was twenty.

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': At one point, Joe is interested in a younger new policewoman. He doesn't think he should cheat on Bonnie, but Bonnie's constantly shoving Joe away, ignoring his achievements, and being far more interested in how she comes off to the other wives rather than how Joey is feeling puts doubt in his mind, the nail in the coffin is when Peter mentions that Bonnie already had an affair years before. However, it's revealed that Bonnie never went through with the affair but everything else still stands. Joe's affair then is portrayed as something wrong, but sympathetic.

* In the first season of ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'', Trent got voted off after Heather tricked the entire camp into thinking he was cheating on his girlfriend, Gwen. During ''Total Drama World Tour'', Gwen started a real romantic relationship with Duncan, who was dating Courtney at the time. While the two suffered a bit from their actions (Gwen had Courtney on her back for the rest of the season and the only thing that spared Duncan from elimination was Chris wanting to extend the drama of the situation), it was nowhere near as bad as the backlash suffered by Trent or Heather. In addition, Courtney was also shown to be [[DomesticAbuse abusive]] towards Duncan, while Gwen was kind to him and respected him.

* ''Literature/HilaryTamar'', in ''The Sirens Sang of Murder'': [[spoiler: the Contessa di Silvabianca]], although ironically when [[spoiler:her husband]] suspects infidelity, he nearly always suspects the wrong people of being involved.

* Discussed in ''Literature/WaxAndWayne''. Wax and Steris [[ArrangedMarriage arrange a marriage]] because [[NobilityMarriesMoney his house is broke but prestigious, and hers is rich but new]]. Steris wrote an extensive marriage contract, allowing a clause for paramours. She's fine with any mistresses he has, and she'll have a dalliance if he does, but she'll wait until an heir is produced to prevent succession problems. [[spoiler:This is because her 'cousin' Marasi is actually her half-sister by her father's mistress, and Steris is insecure about her ability to keep a loving marriage]].

* Played with in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Xander and Willow develop feelings for each other while with Cordelia and Oz respectively, and both happy relationships too. Neither of them want to act on their feelings, and Willow tries to cast a spell to get rid of them, with them only kissing once in the heat of the moment. Their bad luck is Cordy and Oz walking in just as they do. Although Cordelia refuses to take Xander back, Oz eventually forgives Willow and they resume their relationship.
* In the ''Series/{{Lost}}'' episode "The Other Woman," Goodwin cheating on Harper with Juliet is depicted sympathetically, partly because Harper's a shrew, but also because Juliet is a main character and Harper is not. Goodwin also mentions that he had already been sleeping on the couch for a year before Juliet arrived.
* Subverted in ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': Niles moons over Daphne for years, but it's at least somewhat sympathetic because his wife Maris is a frigid, manipulative, emotionally abusive control freak. He remains with Maris, until he learns that she's been cheating on him, at which point he moves out and pursues a relationship with Daphne. He's still technically married when he does so, but in the process of divorce, and so remains sympathetic.
* In the ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses'' {{prequel}} ''Rock and Chips'', Reg is neglectful, crude, abusive, and all too happy to sit at home, watch Joan bring home the bacon, and then waste her meager wages down at the pub. Is it any wonder she jumps into bed with Freddie Robdal -- debonair and attentive, if somewhat unreliable and immoral -- the first chance she gets?

* While not outright "evil", the wife of the VictimOfTheWeek in a ''Series/WithoutATrace'' is a classic RichBitch IceQueen, making it completely understandable that he's not only cheating on her, he's been ''married'' to the other woman for two years. His disappearance turns out to be step one of a plan to run off with the second woman.
* Irene in the ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' episode "The Trap" fills this role. Since Lou, her husband, is a LazyBum who can't hold a job, gets by by fleecing his mother's retirement fund, [[DomesticAbuse is abusive to her, both physically and verbally]], insists that she StayInTheKitchen despite their financial woes, and has cheated on her himself, it's no surprise that she would develop a romantic relationship with Lou's brother, who [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe treats her with kindness and encourages her to get a career]], soon after Lou hatches a scheme to [[FakingTheDead fake his own death]] (with help from Lou's brother, who works as a coroner, albeit reluctantly) in order to collect on his own life insurance policy.
* Derek, aka "Dr. [=McDreamy=]" from ''Series/GreysAnatomy,'' cheated on his wife Addison with Meredith, but only because she cheated on him with his best friend (although she isn't without her sympathetic traits), and the audience is expected to root for Derek and Meredith to end up together.
* ''Series/{{Scandal}}'': President Fitzgerald Grant, who cheated on his wife and First Lady Mellie Grant. Mellie, [[spoiler:who was raped by her father-in-law, which suddenly stopped the SickeninglySweethearts, HappilyMarried face of their relationship]], is a cheater, too.
* On ''Series/{{ER}}'', when Peter begins an affair with the married Jeanie Boulet. Viewers have watched the relationship develop over the past season, so we already know that it's not some sleazy fling, but that she's genuinely torn between him and her husband. When we later learn that her husband has been cheating on her left and right throughout their marriage and has given her HIV, she becomes even more sympathetic.
* ''Series/TheYoungAndTheRestless'': {{Subverted|Trope}} when Nick sleeps with Grace to get back at wife Sharon for her cheating on him with Diego. Problem is, the marriage was already rocky as they were struggling to deal with their grief over the death of their infant daughter and Sharon ran to Diego when she found Nick canoodling with Grace, with whom he'd ''already'' had an affair several years prior, ultimately making Sharon the example of this trope.
* In the ''Series/{{Masterpiece}}'' MiniSeries ''Reckless'', a woman enters into an affair with a younger man in response to discovering her husband's infidelity. The trope is played so straight that while his affair is [[GoodAdulteryBadAdultery "bad"]], hers is the central love story!

* ''Series/QueenOfSwords'': Tessa's closest "society" friend Vera shamelessly sleeps around whenever her husband's not looking -- usually with [[TheDragon Captain Grisham]]. The show rarely comes close to condemning any of this.
* This is Kelly's justification for cheating on Ed at the beginning of ''Series/TheOrville''. She claims that he spent too much time at work, ignoring her. His rebuttal is that he was working hard for both of them. At the same time, Kelly is clearly feeling guilty about her affair and the devastating effect it had on Ed (he used to be the fleet's golden boy, then his career went sharply downhill). Eventually, both admit that they made mistakes, and the marriage was likely doomed anyway.
* ''Series/HowIMetYourFather'': Discussed in "The Jersey Connection": Jesse and Drew's coworkers lambast Sophie for cheating on Drew with Jesse and then not even staying with Jesse, so it wasn't even 'good' cheating.
* Zigzagged in the sixth season of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother''. Ted falls in love with Zoey, the TrophyWife of a wealthy older man who doesn't care much about her. However, he recognizes that his feelings are inappropriate and breaks off his friendship with Zoey, but becomes involved with her after learning she's left her husband because of her feelings for Ted. Ted later learns Zoey's ex-husband's side of the story. He was under the impression that his marriage to Zoey was a happy one before a scoundrel (who he doesn't know the identity of) "stole" his wife. Ted convinces him that he and Zoey just weren't meant for each other, but becomes worried that he is the "bad guy" in the story of Zoey's divorce. After talking with Zoey, she clarifies her own thoughts on the situation:
-->'''Ted:''' Listen, Zoey... I gotta ask something. Did I steal you?\\
'''Zoey:''' Well... yeah? You did, by being the kind of sweet, thoughtful guy who'd never even think of stealing someone. You stole me.\\
'''Ted:''' So I'm the bad guy. Great.\\
'''Zoey:''' Well, the story isn't over, Ted. It'll be years before we know who's the good guy and who's the bad guy. I mean, yes, divorce sucks. But sometimes things need to fall apart to make way for better things.\\
'''Ted:''' If you say so.\\
'''Zoey:''' I'm just saying the eggs are already broken. Let's make sure we get a pretty good omelet out of it.
* Gwen Cooper in ''Series/{{Torchwood}}''. She sleeps with her bad boy colleague Owen due to her forcing to juggle normal life and life with a group of alien hunters.
* ''Series/{{Friends}}'':
** A first season episode has Joey discover that his father has been having an affair. Joey's father is portrayed fairly sympathetically, since he says that he can't help but love the other woman, loves his wife just as much, and is willing to end the affair over how much distress it's causing Joey. Joey's mother then tells him off, saying that she knew about the affair the whole time (Joey Sr. wasn't exactly the best liar) but tolerates it because it makes him a better person and a more attentive husband. Joey eventually gives his blessing to his father, who remains oblivious to his wife's knowledge.
** In the second season, the long-drawn-out WillTheyOrWontThey relationship between Ross and Rachel takes a step forward with their first kiss, in an empty Central Perk. We are supposed to cheer for that kiss, but Ross is, in fact, committed to RomanticFalseLead Julie at that point. To be charitable, Ross's next step is to decide to break up with Julie to be with Rachel.

* On ''Series/OneLifeToLive'', despite dearly loving his wife Cassie, Reverend Andrew Carpenter becomes attracted to Marty Saybrooke while counseling her. What makes them sympathetic is that they've both been through hell over the past year--her gang-rape, the stillbirth of his son--and that Andrew is determined to resist the temptation, even explicitly praying for the strength to do so. They finally break things off after a few intense kisses, realizing that they love Cassie too much to hurt her like this.
* ''Series/{{Velvet}}'': Alberto acknowledges that it isn't fair to Cristina that he is only marrying her for her money and that he doesn't really love her. He even tries to tell himself (and is told by others close to him who know the situation) that Cristina is a wonderful woman and that he could love her. But he just can't let go of Ana and [[spoiler:by the end of season 2, he decides to end the farce and openly devote himself to Ana. Cristina does not take it well.]]
* In ''Series/DoomPatrol2019'', Larry Trainor/Negative Man cheated on his wife with one of his fellow soldiers. It's not portrayed as a ''good'' thing per se but he's portrayed sympathetically. He was a gay man trapped in a homophobic time period which kept him from truly being open about himself and he feels immense guilt over using his wife as TheBeard rather than admitting the truth.
* In ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand'', Lucretia, Batiatus' wife, has been carrying on a "secret" relationship with Crixus, a gladiator. However, she is still very much in love with her husband, and he reveals late in the series that he knew about the affair and was okay with it because it made her happy.

* In ''Series/BlackSails'', Thomas and Miranda are happily married and are both sleeping with James and both are okay with it, Miranda's only reservation being about Thomas and James's safety.
* ''Series/LawAndOrderSVU''
** In a episode, the wife of a victim tells Benson and Amaro that she was well aware of her husband sleeping with other men, but clearly states that she would only have been hurt if he had cheated on her with women.
** [[{{Recap/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS8E9Choreographed}} Choreographed]]: Naomi Cheales, in stark contrast to her lover [[{{Jerkass}} Wesley Masoner]]. She reveals while confessing to her husband Glenn that her affair was motivated by her feeling smothered by Glenn's paranoia that Naomi would cheat on him with one of her fellow dancers.
* ''Series/FreshOffTheBoat'': When we first meet Honey Ellis, we find out that she was her husband’s mistress before he left his wife for her. Sadly, this has made her an outcast among the neighborhood wives, who blame her for breaking up their friend’s marriage. In later episodes, however, we find out that Sarah, the ex-wife, had drug addiction issues and conflicts with her sexuality that was killing her marriage long before Honey came along. Sarah even openly admits that Honey is not the cause of her marital woes, but the result of it. So, not exactly Pay Cheating Onto Evil, but not exactly Pay Cheating Onto Boring, either.
* The pairing of [[SexySecretary Joan Holloway]] and [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Roger Sterling]] in ''Series/MadMen'' is a fan favorite because it combines two versions of this. On Joan's end, it's "Pay Cheating Unto Evil," as her husband Greg is [[spoiler:a rapist]], and on Roger's end, it's "Pay Cheating Unto Boring," as he isn't truly happy with either his first wife [[GrandeDame Mona]] or his second wife, [[GoldDigger Jane]]. Roger and Joan make each other crazy, but happier than anyone else makes them.

* ''Series/{{Taken}}'':
** In "Beyond the Sky", Sally Clarke quickly forms a bond with John, eventually leading them to have sex and conceive Jacob, because she is lonely and he treats her with respect, in stark contrast to her husband Fred.
** In "Maintenance", Becky Clarke and Eric Crawford's affair is partly motivated by the fact that they are both trapped in loveless marriages. Her husband Ronnie is rude, neglectful, and has no appreciation for her needs or desires while Eric only married Julie, the first girl that he slept with, because she became pregnant with Mary the first time that they slept together. Eric's other motivation for beginning an affair with Becky is that he thinks that it is his last, best chance to become a better man rather than a copy of his father Owen.
* ''Series/WeAreWhoWeAre'': Maggie and Jenny both cheated on their spouses together, but were portrayed sympathetically by the narrative. In both cases, it seems it's partly a result of neglect by their spouses or dissatisfaction. Jenny adds the fact that she's a closeted lesbian or bi woman.
* ''Series/WhyWomenKill'': In 1984, socialite Simone finds out her third husband, Karl, has been cheating on her...with men. Later, she laments on the lack of affection she has received from her previous husbands to her best friend’s son, Tommy Hart. Despite the fact that [[AgeGapRomance she’s in her middle years while he just became a legal adult, he is smitten with her and offers to start an affair]]. At first, Simone refuses, but after she finds out his mom, her best friend Tammy, has known about Karl’s extramarital affairs (though believing them to be with women) and never warned Simone, she takes Tommy up on his offer, and they start an affair. Over time, Simone develops genuine feelings for Tommy, and they plan to start a new life together, [[spoiler: only to then break up because Simone insists on being there for [[TragicAidsStory Karl when he contracts AIDS]]]].

* ''Series/MiracleWorkers'': Zeke and Prudence kiss at the end of “Independence Rock” despite both being married to other people. Both are sympathetic characters who have been friends for years, and their spouses are emotionally neglectful or abusive. However, once they have sex God at least ''[[BoltOfDivineRetribution does not]]'' approve.
* ''Series/StrangeEmpire'': Rebecca cheats on her husband with [[spoiler:Morgan Finn]], though given their marriage was just so he could remain her guardian and he initially has no apparent desire for her, she's sympathetic. It's indicated the marriage was unconsummated, so by the laws of the time might not even have fully counted. By the time he's interested in sex with her (due to feeling his manhood was threatened by her affair) he's unable as a result of a leg injury.
* ''Series/BobHeartsAbishola'':
** Abishola herself. When the series begins, she's still married to Tayo, which is part of why she initially is hesitant to accept Bob's affections. But after some time getting to know Bob and realizing how much she likes him, she eventually says "screw it" and starts dating him. This is portrayed as being a good thing by the narrative, because Tayo is emotionally distant and dismissive, and hasn't even lived on the same continent as Abishola and their son in years--he moved back to Nigeria while they stayed in America. Plus, he's started a second family with another woman. Abishola's marriage is treated mostly as a technicality, as it's a ''lot'' of hassle to divorce someone in another country. She does finally demand a divorce when Bob proposes to her and makes it clear he thinks marrying her is worth the trouble.
** Abishola's mother, by the end of the third season, has started what is at least an emotional affair with the new pastor at church. Given that her husband is unloving and apparently barely even talks to her and never shows her physical affection, to the point where she breaks down in tears at the thought of returning to Nigeria to live with him again, this is very understandable.
* ''Series/GhostsUS'': Pete is initially okay with it when he finds out his widow got married to his best friend after he died, since [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy he wants her to be happy]] and is glad she has someone, but he's understandably ''furious'' when it comes out that [[TwoTimingWithTheBestie the relationship started while he was still alive]]. However, Pete's widow Carol is still presented sympathetically, despite the show never excusing her cheating. Carol is shown to have carried the guilt of the affair for decades, especially since Pete died before she got up the nerve to tell the truth and ask for a divorce, and she obviously still cared for Pete. It also helps that she and Pete's best friend are still together even forty years later, meaning they really were in love and not just screwing around. The show presents Carol as having done a bad thing, but not as being a bad ''person'', and Sam (with Pete's blessing) encourages her to finally forgive herself.

* ''Series/Accused2023'': Morgan begins dating Kashir after growing very unhappy with Jason, her very cold husband. As he's a colossal {{jerkass}} who'd cheated on her in the past, it's hard not to sympathize. Later, he proves himself even worse by having her framed on ''drug dealing'' charges when they get divorced.
* [[spoiler:Jean Horsefall]] in ''Series/TheFullMonty2023'' becomes this when we learn what motivated the affair: [[spoiler:[[DeathOfAChild she and Dave lost an infant son]] and they never spoke about it]].
* Subverted in ''{{Series/Yellowjackets}}'', where Shauna decides to have an affair with Adam, a guy she gets into a car accident with, after she sees her husband going to a hotel with another woman. They play up the 'bored housewife with an inattentive husband' angle, but then subvert it by having Jeff defend Shauna's brilliance to other people and reveal he wasn't having an affair, and all to highlight just how messed up Shauna actually is as a person. She previously tried to play that card as a teenager, as Jeff was originally her best friend's boyfriend, but it's clear she's full of shit.
* ''Series/TheBeautyQueenOfJerusalem'': Gabriel is stuck in a loveless ArrangedMarriage, and even his own mother supports him getting a mistress as long as he's discreet.

* "Creep" by Music/{{TLC}} plays with this trope. The singer is cheating on her boyfriend because he is cheating on her. Yet she doesn’t cheat out of revenge, but rather because she needs the emotional support in order to stay in the relationship because she believes it would break his heart if she left.

* Music/CharmingDisaster:
** "Little Black Bird": The song is about a prince who fell in love with a woman who was already married, but her husband is shown to be cruel and abusive, so her cheating on him with the kind and romantic prince is treated as sympathetic. When her husband finds out, he uses his magic powers to transform her into a bird and her lover into a fox, setting up the story's [[StarCrossedLovers tragic ending]].
** "A Glow About Her" is from their ConceptAlbum about UsefulNotes/MarieCurie, detailing Curie's affair with a married man after her own husband died. The song details that her lover was already unhappy in his marriage when the affair began, and mentions that his wife once beat him with a wooden chair leg, so the affair is portrayed as sympathetic.
* Music/JustinTimberlake's single "Cry Me a River" is a "Pay Cheating Unto Cheating" TakeThat against his ex-girlfriend Music/BritneySpears. In the music video, he breaks into her mansion, films himself making out with some random girl, and leaves the evidence for a Britney look-alike to find.

* An UnintentionallySympathetic example is Therese from ''ComicStrip/ForBetterOrForWorse'', who according to a pair of GossipyHens was seeing someone before divorcing her husband [[CreatorsPet Anthony]]. However, this gossip is the ''only'' time her having an affair is ever mentioned. Even if one accepts it as truth, it can still be viewed as Pay Cheating Unto Cheating, as Anthony spent most of his marriage lusting after Liz, and the most obvious effort he ever put into making things work with Therese was pressuring her to have a child before she was ready, because BabiesMakeEverythingBetter.

* ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'': The Countess in the ShowWithinAShow ''Il Muto'' is cheating on her husband with a mute male servant. The Phantom comments that the role of the Countess must be played with charm and appeal, while the husband is not only a bore but a lech who takes a shine to the 'maid' (the Countess's lover in disguise).

* ''{{ComicBook/Blacksad}}'' has a rather complex case in the second album. Jezebel Karup is sleeping with Huk, the NumberTwo of the local KKK knockoff and underling to her husband Hans, while [[LysistrataGambit refusing her husband]] sex, well aware that she's mostly a [[TrophyWife status symbol]] for the WASP police chief and Grand chief of the KKK knockoff. She tells Huk that Hans was ignoring ''her'' and instead is screwing their black maid, Dinah, making this appear to be a reasonably straight case from Huk's perspective (with the added ''unsympathetic'' motivation that Huk sees Hans as a CategoryTraitor). Then it turns out that she was doing it to manipulate Huk into lynching Hans for suspected pedophilia. Then Dinah is found murdered, and Huk soon after. [[spoiler:Hans was in fact Jezebel and Dinah's ''father'', who'd abandoned them and their black mother when the racism went to his head. Killing him was Jezebel's revenge, and she murdered Huk because he killed Dinah when she might go to the cops about Hans's murder.]]

* The infamous {{WesternAnimation/Amphibia}} fanfic Fanfic/LoyaltyAmongWorlds, has the main protagonist, Darrel Loyalitat, dance, confess his love to and kisses Anne ''whilst he's still in a relationship with Sasha.'' Whilst the fanfiction portrays Sasha as not being a nice partner to Darrel, it still counts as him being a cheater.
* In ''Naruto Veangance Revelaitons'', this can be considered to apply to Sakura cheating on Ronan with Franchise/{{Naruto}}, although she [[LoveMartyr doesn't see Ronan as evil and defends him to Naruto]].
* The ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/6779209 Halcyon]]'': This happens to both Midoriya and Uraraka. They get married soon after high school, and it leads their relationship to troubles when they drift apart due to Midoriya slowly developing PTSD, as a result, Midoriya starts to look for comfort in Todoroki, who understands him better, while Uraraka slowly falls for Bakugou, who is her partner in hero work. In the end, both understand they are not right for each other and get a divorce, deciding to start their new relationships.
* In the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' fanfic ''Fanfic/DirtySympathy'', Klavier cheats on Daryan with Apollo, but Daryan is vicious and commits DomesticAbuse who uses his connections as a DirtyCop to trap him and constantly makes death threats. Although unusually, Daryan is perfectly okay with Klavier sleeping with female groupies (Daryan also does that himself), but [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident is ready to]] [[IfICantHaveYou kill]] Klavier when he finds out he's having a romantic and sexual affair with a man.

* ''Fanfic/BestServedColdNyame'': During Oliver's "Get out of Jail" party while he's under house arrest, Laurel cheats on Malcolm with him after an emotionally charged moment. It's played sympathetically, as Laurel is only married to Malcolm so she can be in a position to take him down and stop the Undertaking, and is quite clearly still in love with Oliver. [[spoiler:As further proof, when people learn that Oliver is the father of Olivia and not Malcolm as a result of this, many either brush it off or even express outright relief over it]].

* In ''Film/TheDraughtsmansContract'', Mrs. Herbert has an affair with Mr. Neville, at his insistence. She is portrayed, if not in an outright positive light, at least in a non-negative one owing to the flaws of her husband; what little we see of Mr. Herbert establishes him as kind of a [[{{Jerkass}} dick]], especially to his wife.

* Harry and Becky from the ''Film/{{Creepshow}}'' segment "Something to Tide You Over". Becky's husband Richard isn't explicitly said to have been abusive, but it's very heavily implied by how she's desperate to escape their marriage (Harry even tells Richard she isn't after his money and just wants out), and by how Richard punishes them for it: Arranging their prolonged and sadistic deaths by [[CruelAndUnusualDeath burying them up their necks at the beach to drown when the tide comes in, while setting up a camera and monitor for each so they can see their lover's suffering]]. What makes it extra cruel on Richard's part is that he didn't snap out of heartbreak or anything; he barely cares that his wife wants to leave him, but chose to kill the two in such a horrible way because, as he puts it to Harry, "What's mine is ''mine''."
* In the movie ''Film/{{Waitress}}'', the main character cheats on her husband and is portrayed with sympathy, mainly because the husband is an abusive jerk. Her lover, who is also married, is given less sympathy in the end when we finally meet his wife, who seems to be a very nice person who has no idea that her husband is cheating. [[spoiler: Rightfully, the protagonist gently breaks up with him, telling him his wife has "so much trust."]]

** Matthew Perry's character cheats on his wife, but it's clearly a loveless relationship, his wife and mother-in-law are freeloading off him and constantly verbally abuse him, and she threatens him into trying to sell out a notorious hitman. [[spoiler: And that's just what he knows about her. She's also actively trying to have him killed for the insurance money.]] Naturally, the audience has no sympathy for her.
** PlayedForLaughs, as his affair partner is married to hitman, who not only has cheated on her constantly, but also plans to kill her (since [[SkewedPriorities he believes divorce is a sin).]] This clearly makes her highly sympathetic, but her husband is enraged when he finds out, since adultery is also a sin (but apparently [[ImAManICantHelpIt only for women]]).
* Janet Weiss from the ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'' decides to cheat on Brad by sleeping with Rocky after discovering Brad slept with Frank. Then again, Frank did seduce Janet ''before'' going to Brad...
* In the Korean film ''Film/AprilSnow'', the lead male and female discovered that their spouses were cheating on them with each other. Early in the movie, when the two leads were sitting together and discussing the relationship between their spouses, one of them joked wouldn't it be funny if ''they'' cheated on said spouses for cheating on them. Guess what happens?
* ''Film/{{Blockers}}'': Hunter is reviled throughout the film for having cheated on Sam's mother, leading to their divorce, but eventually he angrily explains that their marriage had fallen apart long beforehand, Brenda had already cheated on him, and had started being physically abusive to him in public.
* John Cleese in ''Film/AFishCalledWanda'' is not at all reluctant to step out on his icy wife for Creator/JamieLeeCurtis.
* PlayedWith in ''Film/TrueLies''. Harry Tasker is a covert operative who keeps his job a secret from his own family. He does this so successfully that his wife, Helen, is deeply bored with their life, and is drawn in by a lothario who claims to be a spy (though this is all a scam he uses to pick up women). She's ultimately unwilling to actually consummate the affair, and (after a series of misadventures), learns the truth about her husband.
* Lisa in ''Film/TheRoom2003'' cheats on her boyfriend Johnny with his best friend, because she considers Johnny boring. Then again, we're not meant to find Lisa very sympathetic, but given that it's [[GaryStu Johnny]], this can [[UnintentionallySympathetic backfire with audiences]].
* French film ''Film/TheEarringsOfMadameDe'': Andre isn't mean or abusive to Louise. In fact he's quite friendly, and he maintains her in a grand style. But he obviously doesn't love her, theirs is a SexlessMarriage, and he's cheating on her. So it's romantic when Louise finds love with Donati.
* In ''Film/TheNotebook'', novel and movie both, Noah and Allie [[spoiler: cheat on their partners; Allie is in fact engaged, and her fiancé loves her and treats her well]]. But we're supposed to root for them because they're StarCrossedLovers.
* In another Creator/NicholasSparks offering, ''Film/TheChoice'', the heroine cheats on her boyfriend with the hero (and he technically cheats on his on-again, off-again paramour with her), even though there is '''''absolutely nothing''''' wrong with him or the relationship. She carries on with the other guy for roughly a month, and not until her boyfriend returns to town does she even seem to realize that there was anything wrong with her behavior.
* Daisy in ''Film/TheCuriousCaseOfBenjaminButton'' cheats on her husband with Benjamin after he reappears after several years because Benjamin is her OneTrueLove and her husband is just a nice guy with no development. Also, it was explicitly a one-night stand that they both knew would probably be the last time they had sex since Benjamin had aged down so far that it's not even clear he was legal at the time.
* UsefulNotes/AmeliaEarhart in ''Film/{{Amelia}}''. In this case, the reason she is "sympathetic" is because she is obviously remorseful and goes back to her husband, who is willing to forgive.

* In the movie ''Film/BeingThere'', the dying Ben Rand is not only fine with his wife's attraction to Chance, he encourages it because he wants her to be happy and taken care of when he's gone.
* In the original ''Film/{{Emmanuelle}}'' trilogy, Jean openly encourages Emmanuelle to carry on affairs and frequently leaves her alone for extended periods in the specific hope that she will seek out new sexual partners. Presumably, he does this to assuage his own guilt over the fact that he's ''always'' cheating on her.
* ''Film/FlorenceFosterJenkins'': Florence chooses to remain happily oblivious to her SecondLove St. Clair's mistress because [[spoiler:Florence is [[YourDaysAreNumbered struggling]] with the long-term syphilis she contracted from her first husband, and has a celibate relationship with St. Clair as a result]].
* ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'': The film portrays William Wallace having an affair with Princess Isabelle of France, wife of the heir apparent Edward II.[[note]]Impossible in real life; Isabelle was still a child when Wallace died.[[/note]] Wallace is a {{Crusading Widow}}er whose wife was murdered by an English lord. It's portrayed sympathetically in a twofold manner for Isabelle, in part because she's in a loveless ArrangedMarriage with a man who is strongly implied to be homosexual. She also uses the fact that it was Wallace, not her husband, who impregnated her with the future King of England to taunt the evil Edward Longshanks, who arranged her marriage to his son in the first place.
* The protagonists of ''Film/BrokebackMountain'' are bisexual; but find greater satisfaction with each other opposed to their wives. However, given the time setting, an [[EternalSexualFreedom openly gay relationship]] was [[ValuesDissonance out of the question.]]
* Not really fitting with any of the above, but Yuri in ''Film/DoctorZhivago'' is a deeply sympathetic character who maintains his relationships with both his loving and beloved wife and the [[BreakTheCutie lonely and sad]] Lara.
* In ''Film/TheDraughtsmansContract'', Mrs. Talmann has an affair with Mr. Neville, at her insistence. She is portrayed, if not in an outright positive light, at least in a non-negative one owing to the flaws of her husband; Mr. Talmann is a complete {{jerkass}}, as well as {{implied|trope}} to be impotent.
* This is the central premise of the play and film ''Film/SameTimeNextYear''. Both parties meet once each year for a tryst because both have fallen in love with the other. We never meet their partners, but what is shared about their respective wife and husband doesn't make them out to be particularly deserving of being cheated on consistently. For what it's worth, the two leads ''are'' well aware that the whole arrangement is pretty messed up.
* Jerry and Cassie provide an unusually early example of this trope in the 1932 film ''Film/ThreeWiseGirls''. Jerry and Cassie are one another's OneTrueLove. Jerry and his wife might never have loved each other, but definitely aren't in love anymore in the movie; they've agreed to divorce but have right of veto on their each other's new partner. Jerry's wife is the antagonist for refusing to grant a divorce and it's a HappyEnding when she finally does and Jerry and Cassie get together.
* ''Film/CrazyRichAsians''
** [[spoiler: Rachel's mother Kerry]] had her out of wedlock because her husband was abusive. [[spoiler: Rachel's birth father]] had helped Kerry escape from that life.
** Zigzagged with [[spoiler: Michael]]. [[spoiler: Astrid]], who is shown to be an otherwise loving spouse, initially treated him with baby gloves and [[spoiler: Michael]] was the one to storm off despite being the cheater and having sympathetic motives. But at the end of the film, [[spoiler: Astrid]] called him out that under no circumstances, his reason for cheating was bad and he was just an insecure coward looking for excuses.
* ''Film/Aquaman2018'': Atlanna was already married to King Orxav when she escaped to the surface then had a relationship with a human who rescued her, which resulted in them having a son. This is sympathetic though as the marriage was arranged against her will.
* In ''Film/SawI'', Lawrence is a haughty oncologist who puts his work above his family. Over the course of the film, it's revealed that he'd planned to have a fling with a med student, but decided, at the last minute, not to go through with it. This, in conjunction with his experiences in Jigsaw's trap, makes him desperate to return to his family and be a better husband and father.
* ''Film/SunshineCleaning'': Rose is having an affair with her high school boyfriend, who is already married with a daughter. His wife is shown to be something of a shrew, making Mac seem somewhat sympathetic here, though refusing to leave her diminishes it since he's kept Rose and their son a secret for years (with no solid relationship because of this). Rose ends the relationship after getting a reality check that he will never leave his wife.
* ''Film/MaggieAndAnnie'': Annie is portrayed sympathetically over having an affair with Maggie due to her never feeling attracted to a woman before and also feeling quite guilty at cheating. Even her husband Bill is sympathetic to a degree when he finds out.
* ''Film/GirlsLikeMagic'': Maggie cheats with Jamie eventually after lots of sexual tension. She remains sympathetic as she's apologetic about it to Jacob for this and gently tells him they had been drifting apart for some time, while their engagement was a huge mistake, along with being [[NiceGirl very sweet overall]].
* ''Film/TwentyEightHotelRooms'': The man and woman had a one night stand which became a long-running affair while both were with other people. It continues even after the woman's gotten married, with her becoming pregnant from the man and passing off their daughter as really being her husband's. They retain some sympathy as both are likeable people who feel very guilty as a result, the woman continually resisting leaving her husband because she'd gone through her parents' divorce which she doesn't want to inflict on her daughter.
* ''Film/KissMe2011'': Frida and Mia are both portrayed as very guilty after having sex together, torn between their existing partners and each other. Before confessing she cheated to her partner Elin, Frida can be seen watching an old video of herself saying she would never cheat and loathes it with a guilty expression. Mia later also does the same with her fiance Tim. Neither he nor Elin are sympathetic at all though about this, as you might expect, but the film's narrative is on their side since the pair are portrayed as right in finding happiness together.
* ''Film/CassanovaWasAWoman'': Cassanova cheats on Lola and Jose by dating them simultaneously without telling either. She feels remorseful about it and it's born from her struggle over accepting that she's bisexual. Lola angrily breaks up with her over it nonetheless, as you'd expect.
* In ''Film/ARoyalAffair'', Caroline is treated very sympathetically for her affair - her marriage to Christian is miserable and loveless and Christian treats her very poorly (including brazenly cheating on her with prostitutes), whilst her lover Struensee treats her as an equal and loves her. [[spoiler:Her punishment for the affair also comes off as extremely harsh by modern standards, including never being able to see her children again]].
* ''Film/NowVoyager'''s male lead is trapped in an unhappy marriage with an abusive shrew for a wife, who is also abusive to their youngest daughter (and in the book it's based on, he's just come off a nervous breakdown similar to the protagonist). Jerry and Charlotte's emotional affair is played very sympathetically, but the context of the time (TheForties) means Jerry couldn't just divorce Isabelle to be with Charlotte.
* ''Film/AlreadyTomorrowInHongKong'' is about an emotional affair between two people who meet and spend a night together (non sexually). Both are presented sympathetically.
** Josh has a girlfriend who's implied to be neglectful - he's introduced alone and bored outside her birthday party while she's said to be flirting with other guys inside. She also hasn't introduced him to her parents, and they don't even know about the relationship when they've been together well over a year.
** Ruby is revealed to be engaged to her boyfriend Daniel, but admits they've been on and off over the years, with other implications that she's with him more out of obligation.
* ''Film/FeastOfLove'': Kathryn is portrayed with sympathy for seeing Jenny while she's still married to Bradley, as he doesn't really get her and she had seemingly only just realized she's into women.
* In the LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek ''Film/UnansweredPrayers'' (based on the Music/GarthBrooks song), a man is tempted to stray with his FirstLove (his high school sweetheart) when she returns to town--although he's HappilyMarried, he's clearly never stopped caring about her nor wondering WhatCouldHaveBeen. None of the three parties is ever portrayed as a bad person or at fault for the situation and despite things never going beyond a kiss--which sparks a HeelRealization--the man realizes his behavior is wrong and breaks things off with the other woman, acknowledging--much like in the page description--that while he may always have lingering feelings for her, he belongs with his wife--he accepts hers and their son's anger and commits to repairing his marriage.
* ''Film/ARoyalNightOut'' depicts a fictionalised story where Elizabeth II has a brief affair for VE Night with a bomber boy helping her track her sister down. There is mention of her fiance when she asks Jack to have a drink with her, mainly as something to entice him to help her, but she jokes "overseas doesn't count". She's portrayed very sympathetically at wanting to give up her privileged royal life full of duty and obligations, with one kiss being framed as OK by the narrative because of the understanding that they would never see each other again.
* Deconstructed in ''Film/TheDescendants''. The main character learns that his wife was having an affair shortly after she's left in a coma that she's unlikely to come out of, and their eldest daughter knew, as did two of her friends. The friends try to justify Elizabeth's cheating with the "she was lonely" excuse, but Matt shouts them down. Elizabeth was at least revealed to have been intending to leave Matt for the guy, who in turn says he saw it as a fling. Brian is played somewhat sympathetically, but the hurt to his NiceGirl of a wife Julie isn't glossed over, and they're only trying to work through it after Brian made it clear how much he regretted the affair.

** Guenevere's affair with Lancelot isn't always presented sympathetically but when it is, it's generally Pay Cheating Unto Boring (because Arthur is too busy running the kingdom) or Pay Cheating Unto Fine With It (Arthur officially Doesn't Know, and works ''really hard'' to keep things that way, because [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy he wants Guenevere (and possibly Lancelot) to be happy]].)

* ''Film/FeastOfLove'': Kathryn is portrayed with sympathy for seeing Jenny while she's still married to Bradley, as he doesn't really get her and she had seemingly only just realizes she's into women.

* Harry and Becky from the ''Film/{{Creepshow}}'' segment "Something to Tide You Over". Becky's husband Richard isn't explicitly said to have been abused, but it's very heavily implied by how she's desperate to escape the relationship (Harry even tells Richard she doesn't want his money), and by how Richard punishes them for it: Arranging their prolonged and sadistic deaths by [[CruelAndUnusualDeath burying them up their necks at the beach to drown when the tide comes in, while setting up a camera and monitor for each so they can see their lover's suffering]]. What makes it extra cruel on Richard's part is that he didn't snap out of heartbreak or anything; he barely cares that his wife wants to leave him, but chose to kill the two in such a horrible way because, as he puts it to Harry, "What's mine is ''mine''."

* '''Pay Cheating Unto Cheating''': Their partner is cheating themself, in which case the cheating is a form of LaserGuidedKarma.

** Matthew Perry's character cheats on his wife, but she and her mother are freeloading off of him, it's a loveless relationship, and she goads him into trying to sell out a notorious hitman for money. [[spoiler: And that's just what he knows about her. She also calls in a hit on him as her real goal is to get his life insurance money.]] Naturally, the audience has no sympathy for her.
** PlayedForLaughs with the hitman himself, played by Bruce Willis, who is also the husband of the woman Perry cheats on ''his'' wife with. Willis is planning to ''murder'' his wife for money, but he also is adamant that [[SkewedPriorities adultery is sinful]] and is ''furious'' with Perry for sleeping with her when he finds out even though it is clear that he doesn't love his wife. He eventually realises that he is just being a hypocrite and decides to let both of them live and be together however.

* PlayedWith in ''Film/TrueLies''; super-spy Harry Tasker thinks his wife is having an affair in part because she thinks he is only a boring computer salesman, a cover ironically he actively cultivates even at home -- he might even take ''pride'' in how boring it is. Turns out the truth is a bit more complicated; she ''does'' find him boring, but the guy Harry thinks she is having an "affair" with is a used car salesman who is trying to get in her pants by ''posing'' as a super-spy who wants her to be his fake-wife. In the end, she actually refuses to have sex with him precisely because she is married and loyal to her husband... which comes to bite Harry in the ass when ''he'' recruits her for a fake mission to seduce a French arms dealer (really Harry himself, hidden in the shadows) and she beats up ''him'' as well, not knowing it is her husband. Needless to say, she is not remotely amused when she finds all this out (and even Harry kind of realises that what he is doing is really messed up), but eventually they sort out their differences and she even becomes his partner in the field.

* ''Film/YouveGotMail'' combines this with "Boring". Joe and Kathleen, the protagonists, are essentially carrying on an emotional online affair behind their respective partners' backs (the fact that each takes great pains to hide it implies that they know it's wrong on some level, so it just avoids ProtagonistCenteredMorality), but this is treated as excusable since they're clearly unhappy in their respective relationships. Their paramours might be completely wrong for them, but they certainly don't seem to be bad people deserving of such treatment.

* In ''Film/SawI'', Lawrence is a haughty oncologist who not only puts his work above his wife Alison and young daughter Diana, but is involved in a fling with younger medical student Carla in which he clearly holds all the power. However, when they meet in a seedy motel and Carla begins to undress, Lawrence can't bring himself to go through with it and gently turns her down. Adam, who currently sits in the bathroom trap with him, witnessed this while he was tailing Lawrence at the behest of Detective Tapp, and calls him out with photographic evidence for stepping out on his wife. Alison is clearly frustrated with how lovelessly Lawrence treats her, and she tells him that she would rather he screamed and berated her because "at least there'd be some passion in it." Although Lawrence eventually admits to meeting Carla the night before, he becomes furious when Adam says that he cheated. Lawrence's objective in the game is to kill Adam so Alison and Diana won't be killed, and he makes it clear that he does indeed love them both greatly. He becomes increasingly distressed over their safety as the night progresses, and when their captor has them call and beg for his help, he calls Alison by an affectionate nickname, presumably left over from a time when they were happier. When she calls a second time, he apologizes for everything and says that he's "always been happy" with her; after he hears fighting and screaming on the other end before the line goes dead, [[BreakTheHaughty he's reduced to furious, crazed screaming about needing to save them]]; he finally cuts his foot and reluctantly shoots Adam so they'll live.

* ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'': Hank Rearden's wife Lillian is shown to not care about her husband. This is made clear when she trades a bracelet Hank made her for their anniversary for a random flashy bracelet that the book's protagonist Dagny Taggart is wearing, showing how little she values their relationship. Hank hooks up with Dagny later.

* Subverted in ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': Niles being ''attracted'' to Daphne is sympathetic because his wife Maris is a frigid, manipulative, emotionally abusive control freak -- but he still never cheats on her, even though no one would condemn him very much for it.

* Those stories in ''VisualNovel/ChoicesStoriesYouPlay'' that revolve around affairs feature the Pay Cheating Unto Cheating variant, with some other reasons mixed in.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': At one point, Joe is interested in a younger new policewoman. He doesn't think he should cheat on Bonnie, but Bonnie's constantly shoving Joe away, ignoring his achievements, and being far more interested in how she comes off to the other wives rather than how Joey is feeling puts doubt in his minds, the nail in the coffin is when Peter mentions that Bonnie already had an affair years before. However, it's revealed that Bonnie never went through with the affair but everything else still stands. Joe's affair then is portrayed as something wrong, but sympathetic.
* ''WesternAnimation/BigMouth'' deconstructs this. [[spoiler:Jessi's parents' romance [[DeadSparks died years ago]] and they are now stuck with each other in a [[AwfulWeddedLife miserable marriage]], constantly fighting because Greg is an apathetic [[TheStoner stoner]] while Shannon is constantly working to keep the family afloat as he can't give any help at all. As a result of this, Shannon starts an affair with another woman]]. This is deconstructed because [[spoiler:no matter how valid her reasons for starting the affair may be, Shannon still cheated on her husband and destroyed her family -- Jessi is heartbroken over watching the dissolution of her parents' marriage and sides with her father in this, and Greg is hurt how Shannon can't honestly say she is still in love with him, leading to what's implied to be a very turbulent and emotionally damaging divorce to all involved.]]

* ''Literature/OfFireAndStars'': Dennaleia cheats on her fiancé Thandilimon by having sex with her sister. However, she's sympathetic as a result of their engagement [[ArrangedMarriage being arranged]] when both were just children, so this really wasn't a commitment she chose, plus Dennaleia [[IncompatibleOrientation is a lesbian]] so she'd never truly be happy with him regardless.

* ''Literature/LancelotTheKnightOfTheCart'' (a Myth/ArthurianLegend story from the 1100s) is the earliest text to include an affair between Guinevere and Lancelot. Later versions of the mythos credit Guinevere and Lancelot's affair as being part of the ultimate downfall of Camelot, but that's completely absent from this version. The fact that Guinevere is married to Arthur and this is adultery goes almost entirely unremarked upon. Neither Lancelot nor Guinevere experience any guilt or conflict about it. There's only ''one'' point where the involved characters so much as ''mention'' Arthur in relation to the affair, which is at the very end, when Lancelot returns to Camelot, and Guinevere makes a point not to greet him as warmly as she'd like to because Arthur and others are right there watching. Meanwhile, at one point Meleagant wrongfully accuses Kay of being Guinevere's lover, and in that conversation [[JerkassHasAPoint Meleagant]] and [[DumbassHasAPoint Kay]] both bring up the betrayal to Arthur. It's been suggested this may have been an EnforcedTrope. ''The Knight of the Cart'' was written by Creator/ChretienDeTroyes under the patronage of Countess Marie de Champagne. The text begins with Chrétien crediting Marie for the basic plot. It's thought that Marie (a noblewoman) was into the idea of a noblewoman having an affair with her knight and nobody suffering any consequences from it. Chrétien's note, then, is to clarify this is an EnforcedTrope and not AuthorAppeal, lest anyone think it was ''him'' who was into adultery. This would also explain why the text is so silent on the fact that it ''is'' adultery: Chrétien didn't know how to justify adultery, or have them feel conflicted about it but still go ahead have the affair despite that, so he just left that out entirely.