12 science-backed facts about cheating that all couples should know

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• Infidelity means different things to different people.
• Psychologists and relationship experts have spent years studying the science of infidelity, including when couples are more likely to cheat and how it can affect them.
• Men are more likely to cheat when they have a milestone birthday coming up, according to one study.
• Straight men are more distressed by sexual infidelity, while straight women are more distressed by emotional infidelity.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Infidelity is murky territory. Does a one-night stand at a bachelor party count? How about an emotional entanglement with a close friend that doesn't involve anything physical?

Psychologists and relationship experts have spent years studying the science of infidelity, turning up surprising insights into what different couples consider cheating, how they react to cheating, and how they bounce back after someone strays.

We looked into some of that research and pulled out the most compelling results. Read on to see what we found — and how you can apply these findings to your own relationship.

If you're economically dependent on your spouse, you're more likely to cheat on them.

A 2015 study of about 2,800 people between ages 18 and 32, published in the American Sociological Review, suggests that a person who is completely economically dependent on their spouse is more likely to be unfaithful. 

That's especially true for a man who relies financially on a woman. About 15% of men who are completely financially dependent on their wives cheat, compared to 5% of dependent women.

Here's the really interesting part: Men are less likely to cheat the more money they make relative to their spouse — until they bring in 70% of the household income, at which point they become more likely to cheat again.

Women are also less likely to cheat the more money they make relative to their spouse — but their cheating rates don't seem to go up at any point.

We feel differently based on the sex of the person our partner cheats with.

For a 2015 study, published in the journal Personal Relationships, men and women read about hypothetical scenarios in which their partner had sex with someone of a different sex or the same sex.

When researchers asked participants how they would feel about it, the men were more likely to be angry and more inclined to end a relationship if their partner cheated with someone of a different sex. But they were more likely to be aroused if their partner cheated with someone of the same sex.

Women also said they'd feel more negatively if their partner cheated with someone of a different sex. But they'd be more inclined to end the relationship if their partner cheated with someone of the same sex.

We think everyone is cheating — except our partner.

Relationships are bound to disintegrate — but not yours, of course!

In a 2015 study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, university students estimated that the average person of the opposite sex has about a 42% chance of cheating on their partner.

But when it came to their own partners, participants estimated that there was about a 5% chance that their partner had already cheated on them and about an 8% chance that they would cheat on them in the future.

As it turns out, 9% of participants said they'd really strayed.

See Also:

• 5 lessons on jealousy and romance that couples can learn from their friends in non-monogamous relationships
• 11 subtle behaviors that could be seriously jeopardizing your relationship
• The most insidious type of cheating isn't physical. Here are 11 signs your partner could be guilty.

SEE ALSO: The most insidious type of cheating isn't physical — here are 9 signs your partner could be guilty