Why Celebrities Normalising Cheating May Be Changing Modern Relationships, Experts Explain

Trust and respect are believed to be the two pillars of any relationship. But cheating is a termite that hollows out the foundation, leaving those pillars crumbling. In today's age, infidelity is grounds for divorce under major personal laws in India, but celebrities seem to be normalising it.

Ram Kapoor recently said that during the rough phase of a relationship, a person can cheat on their partner "galti se". Earlier, while discussing adultery on Two Much with Twinkle and Kajol, the host said, "raat gayi, baat gayi," triggering a massive backlash online.

Rumoured celebrity affairs have been the source of tabloid gossip for decades, but no one noticed that they have slowly been changing the perception towards the subject.

What Is Infidelity

Believe it or not, the topic of infidelity is not black and white. In fact, its definition can vary from one person to another.

Dr Deepika Sharma, Consultant - Clinical Psychologist, Asian Hospital, told NDTV, "Infidelity is defined as the breach of agreed-upon relationship boundaries that results in a violation of trust. In addition to physical intimacy, infidelity can also take the form of emotional affairs, secret romantic conversations, sexting, hiding the use of dating apps, engaging in intimate relationships online, or concealing interactions that a partner would logically expect to be aware of."

Shalini Singh, Founder of AndWeMet, added that cheating is not restricted to physical intimacy. "At its core, infidelity is less about a specific act and more about breaking the trust and expectations that two people have mutually agreed upon," she added.

Has Cheating Become More Common Or Even Acceptable

If you are exposed to something over and over again, it loses its impact, and a person becomes desensitised to it. Similar appears to be the case with cheating. Celebrities joking about, mocking, and even justifying infidelity have quietly been shaping how audiences perceive it.

Dr Chandni Tugnait, MD (A.M), Psychotherapist and Founder & Director, Gateway of Healing, said, "Exposure to statements and high-profile affairs involving celebrities shapes societal opinions about what is normal and acceptable. When someone popular says that infidelity was just a mistake, it can slowly begin to be perceived as more acceptable."

The reaction is not limited to the act of cheating but also to its reception. "There's no formal study that directly links celebrity reconciliations to personal forgiveness expectations, but the pattern is hard to ignore. When a woman publicly forgives a cheating partner, she's praised for being graceful. When a man reacts with anger to the same situation, it's treated as completely understandable," the psychotherapist added.

Was Monogamy Never A Part Of Our DNA

Monogamy has long been practised, but throughout history many powerful men, including kings, have had multiple wives for political alliances, dynastic interests, or personal reasons. In contrast, there are only a handful of well-known examples of women practising polyandry. Perhaps the most famous is Draupadi from the Mahabharata, who was often insulted and disrespected by the Kauravas and Karna.

It does raise the question of whether monogamy was ever a part of human DNA.

Dr Sharma explained, "Throughout history, human relationships have taken many forms, and there is no basis for determining that humans prefer exclusively one type or the other (monogamy or polygamy). While many societies in the past had social rules restricting women's choices, it was common for wealthy and powerful men to have multiple partners."

"Modern healthy relationships are less a product of biology and much more a product of mutual consent, trust, equality, and the shared expectations of both partners," she noted.

Does Fame Give Celebrities A Freeway

When rumours of a celebrity extramarital affair surface, people often take sides. Social media users sometimes even justify infidelity without knowing the full story. For many die-hard fans, it is possible to separate a star's personal and professional choices.

Celebrities joking about, mocking, and even justifying infidelity have quietly been shaping how audiences perceive it. Photo: Unsplash

"Certainly, celebrities are often portrayed as being different from everyone else. When someone with fame, power, wealth, or talent engages in behaviour as damaging as cheating on a spouse or partner, that behaviour can appear more acceptable because of their status," Dr Sharma shared.

Dr Tugnait believes that when someone is famous enough, their behaviour always gets explained away rather than examined. "Infidelity becomes a rough patch, an affair becomes a complicated situation, and somehow the rules that apply to everyone else quietly stop applying to them," she added.

Adding fuel to the fire is media coverage. When affairs are covered as gossip to sell a story, the real emotional consequences can get overshadowed. The broken trust, grief, and trauma often get lost in the noise.

Shalini Singh suggested, "PR narratives, media coverage, and social media all influence how stories are perceived. Fans should remember that they're seeing only a curated version of events and avoid rushing to defend or condemn someone without knowing the full picture."

How Couples Today View Infidelity

Adultery is not a new concept. It has always existed in society. Shalini Singh said that over the last 10 to 20 years, infidelity has become more visible. "Social media, messaging apps, and 24/7 news cycles mean that conversations around cheating are far more public today than they were in the past," she added.

Dr Tugnait believes that people still experience the same depth of pain when betrayal happens, but the framing around it has changed. "There's far more negotiation now around what even counts as cheating, and a lot of that ambiguity is being borrowed directly from what people consume online and through celebrity culture," she added.

While infidelity remains a subject of debate across social media platforms, evolving conversations around relationships, celebrity culture, and personal boundaries are reshaping how it is perceived.

Also Read | Gautami Kapoor Comes Out In Support Of Husband Ram Kapoor Amid Backlash Over His 'Cheating' Remarks