Emotional betrayal hurts women more than sexual infidelity, study says

Women get more upset when their partners develop a deep emotional connection with another person than when they sexually cheat on them, according to researchers. On the other hand, for men, it is the exact opposite.

Experts suggest that different responses are probably the result of millions of years of evolution, reports the Daily Mail. This is because women have been traditionally nurturers and so would want their partner to stay with them to look after the family. The experience emotional jealously when they fear that their partner might abandon them, the study says. Also, men tend to get more jealous about sexual infidelity because they are more concerned that they do not end up raising another male’s offspring.

The study was carried out by researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s department of psychology and involved examining 1000 participants. Its findings were published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.