I don't think this is true for all cheaters. For me it was so amazing to be spoken to and treated like a human being, I never felt the fallout loneliness. It also made my carmudgeon husband infinitely easier to tolerate because I wasn't seething with resentment and sexual frustration. I could give you so many examples of when I could have (justifiably) gone on full on bitch mode, but instead I just shrugged it off, thought who am I to judge, and offered up some supportive words instead.

But OP is correct. Affairs are the cheap way out. Enduring a sexless marriage isn't easy. Bucking down and divorcing isn't easy. Cheating on the other hand, is easy- all the heartache and physical risk notwithstanding.