100 Cheating Quotes For Every Stage Of Betrayal And Healing

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Unfortunately, it's not uncommon to be cheated on. A 2023 Dr. Kathy survey found as many as 73.5% of more than 2,115 respondents admitted to having an affair in an adult romantic relationship. A 2026 NapLab study found that as many as 84.7% of the 1,600 Americans it surveyed claimed to have been cheated on at least once. But while the statistics may vary (understandably, collecting valid data about morally questionable behavior is tough), it's fair to say cheaters aren't few and far between. In fact, there are even multiple celebrities who have admitted to cheating on their partners.

Sometimes, we need the insight of others to help us come to terms with the feelings of anger, upset, and disloyalty. We've sought out some of the very best pearls of wisdom from female relationship experts, authors, and celebrities who have dealt with infidelity to help you through every stage of betrayal and healing while you decide what's the right next step for you. These quotes can also help you show up for a friend who's been cheated on (even if they choose to stay with their partner).

• "Even if someone's betrayed us, we must continue to trust others. When faced with contempt, continue to know your worth. Because there are more good people than indecent ones. More people with empathy than indifference. The ones who leave are fewer than the many who stay by our side" — Shakira
• "Betrayal isn't just cheating; it's an act of violence that attacks your reality, decimates your trust, and shatters your sense of safety. And it destroys the boundaries of your relationship. Cheating is violence" — Kerry McAvoy
• "Betrayal from someone close doesn't just hurt ... it shakes something inside you that strangers could never touch ... Their choice was a reflection of their limitations, not your value. Your loyalty wasn't a mistake. Your heart wasn't naive. You simply loved deeply — and they couldn't meet you there. You're not broken. You're rebuilding. And this version of you will be wiser, softer, and more empowered than ever" — SheOwnSupremacy
• "Their betrayal didn't break you. It broke who you thought they were" — Najwa Zebian
• "A person's greatest declaration of love isn't made in the beginning. It's written in the way they handle the power to hurt you" — Psychotherapist Chanel
• "Healing from [betrayal] isn't about 'moving on' it's about coming back to yourself. The version of you that never deserved to carry the weight of someone else's betrayal" — Psychologist Claire Jones
• "Everyone suffers at least one bad betrayal in their lifetime. It's what unites us. The trick is not to let it destroy your trust in others when that happens. Don't let them take that from you" — Sherrilyn Kenyon in "Invincible: The Chronicles of Nick"
• "The only way to 'get over' a break-up or a betrayal, like any other suffering we experience in life is to fully go through it and that means letting ourselves feel and express the pain" — Hilda Burke, psychotherapist and couples counselor, to Cosmopolitan
• "Cheating is not a slip-up. It's a deliberate betrayal. A conscious decision to shatter someone's trust, break their spirit, and rewrite their reality for your selfish gain. No matter how you justify it it was never love, it was never respect. If they loved you, they would have protected you, not damaged you. Healing starts when you stop blaming yourself for the hurt they chose to cause" — Tarot reader and life alignment coach Navjoyt Kaur
• "It's normal to feel lost, shattered, and questioning everything after betrayal. But when those feelings start to keep you trapped in the past, it's important to recognize the pain and begin to heal" — Amanda Jane

• "Karma comes after everyone eventually. You can't get away with screwing people over your whole life, I don't care who you are. What goes around comes around. That's how it works. Sooner or later the universe will serve you the revenge that you deserve" — Jessica Brody in "The Karma Club"
• "Tables don't stay the same forever. The chaos you bring into someone else's life eventually becomes your reality. Karma never misses anyone" — Mridula Bali
• "Little girls plot revenge. Smart women sit back and let karma do its job" — Samantha Vérant in "The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux"
• "Karma's a relaxing thought, aren't you envious that for you it's not?" — Taylor Swift on "Karma"
• "Never forget that karma doesn't miss. Let the trash take itself out. Because the hands they used to hurt you with will be the same hands that deliver their lesson" — Marisa Barnard
• "Rotten fruit falls on its own" — Anna Schlinghoff
• "When someone cheats, they don't just break up a relationship. They create karmic baggage they carry far beyond that moment" — Karma coach and psychic Dr. Tamanna C
• "Karma doesn't rush. It watches. It let people believe they've won, that their actions had no consequences. And when the moment is right, it responds with perfect timing" — Brittany Lane
• "No effect occurs without cause, and no cause occurs without effect. No unjust action goes without penalty, and no action or thought flows unnoticed throughout the universe" — Suzy Kassem in "Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem"
• "Every intentional thought, word, or deed — right now and in your past — it all makes you what you are today. Your choices, not your neighbor's or your wife's or you boyfriend's — your decisions determine your karma" — Lucie Smoker in "Distortion: A Novel"

• "Sometimes God allows the betrayal ... because it leads to the breakthrough" — Kayla Reid
• "You only fail yourself when stay somewhere which is draining your joy and causing you to suffer" — Hazel Satija
• "What I learned, it's not that I'm not lovable — it's that they're not capable" — Jennifer Lopez on "The Howard Stern Show" (via People)
• "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time" — Maya Angelou
• "If God closes a door AND a window, consider the fact that it might be time to build a whole new house" — Mandy Hale in "The Single Woman — Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass: Embracing Singleness with Confidence"
• "Sometimes, your closure is in knowing that you did everything you could, regardless of how it all ends" — Zahra Daripour
• "No woman could love a cheater and not pay the price for it" — Rose Wynters in "Delicate Devastation"
• "Karma's just sharpening her nails and finishing her drink. She'll be with you shortly" — Darynda Jones in "Betwixt"
• "A couple months ago, I had thought I couldn't live without him. Apparently I could" — Gabrielle Zevin in "Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac"
• "Sometimes it takes a heartbreak to shake us awake and help us see we are worth so much more than we're settling for" — Mandy Hale in "The Single Woman — Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass: Embracing Singleness with Confidence"

• "Slide the weight from your shoulders and move forward. You are afraid you might forget, but you never will. You will forgive and remember" — Barbara Kingsolver in "The Poisonwood Bible"
• "If you didn't love [them], this never would have happened. But you did. And accepting that love and everything that followed it is part of letting it go" — Sarah Dessen in "Dreamland"
• "The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning" — Ivy Baker Priest to Parade (via LibQuotes)
• "You can love them, forgive them, want good things for them ... but still move on without them" — Mandy Hale in "The Single Woman–Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass: Embracing Singleness with Confidence"
• "Happiness is the best revenge, you know? Just be happy. It's a choice" — Emily Giffin in "Heart of the Matter"
• "Having experienced everything you don't want in a partner over time, it starts to narrow down to what you actually do want" — Jennifer Aniston to InStyle
• "Life is about being happy and fulfilled and sometimes that means making hard choices" — Mandy Moore to People
• "Sometimes you need to let go and accept things the way they are, and not the way you wished they could be. Some parts of your journey are only supposed to be temporary. Maybe this is part of your journey to teach you a lesson, to teach you that you deserve more, to encourage you to grow" — Charlotte Freeman
• "Their choices reflected their emotional capacity, not my worth. One of the most freeing parts of healing has been realizing I don't need everyone to choose me. I only need to choose myself enough to walk toward relationships where love is mutual, peaceful, and freely given" — Elle Vicini
• "You can't look back — you just have to put the past behind you, and find something better in your future" — Jodi Picoult in "Salem Falls"

• "Even after the initial sting is neutralized, you want to make sure you've done extensive processing so you can do everything you can to close this chapter and not drag the baggage into the next relationship and/or let it permanently alter your worldview about relationships and people. If we have unresolved issues, we may be unknowingly gravitating toward people who are not good for us" — @hi17, couples therapist, on Reddit
• "I think it's about realizing it's not about you. When someone cheats on you, it's about them ... about their shortcomings" — Jennifer Lopez to Glamour U.K.
• "We all want that quick fix because these feelings are so unpleasant but it's important to appreciate the process and give it some time, to allow yourself that time to really heal" — Dr. Meg Arroll, chartered psychologist, to Refinery29
• "One of the most liberating things I learned is that people don't treat us according to who we are, they treat us according to who they are. Once I understood that, I stopped letting other people's behavior define my worth and started seeing it for what it really was — information about them, not evidence about me" — Hazel Satija
• "The apology you're waiting for will not do what you think it will do. If someone, who you trusted enough to allow them to stand behind you, took a knife and stabbed you in the back, would their reason or apology change the fact that they stabbed you?" — Najwa Zabian
• "If you spend your time hoping someone will suffer the consequences for what they did to your heart, then you're allowing them to hurt you a second time in your mind" — Shannon L. Alder (via Goodreads)
• "Virtually all women will always carry the scars and a deep sense of loss and grief from the betrayal. Whether a woman has stayed, left, or been left, it must be remembered that time is the salve on this journey towards forgiveness and healing, because it is also a process of grieving" — Meryn G. Callander in "After His Affair: Women Rising from the Ashes of Infidelity"
• "Create boundaries. Honor your limits. Say no. Take a break. Let go. Stay grounded. Nurture your body. Love your vulnerability. And if all else fails, breathe deeply" — Aletheia Luna in "Awakened Empath: The Ultimate Guide to Emotional, Psychological and Spiritual Healing"
• "Never apologize for loving someone. Even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts" — Lynette Noni in "The Prison Healer"
• "You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them" — Maya Angelou

• "I know what was done to me was not about me. I know that was about them, and they have past trauma that they've never healed from" — Khloé Kardashian on "Khloé in Wonder Land"
• "My heart and compassion goes out to everyone who has traversed the traumatic journey of betrayal. It's a profound wound that cuts deep, however, I believe in a higher power and that God/the universe, whatever you relate to as your guidance, is always working FOR us" — Deborra-Lee Furness to Daily Mail
• "What I learned was how easy it is to be blinded by your own desire to deceive yourself" — Emma Thompson to The New Yorker
• "There are many shades on every journey. Nothing is black or white. I've been through hell and back, and I'm grateful for every scar. I have experienced betrayals and heartbreaks in many forms. Through it all I have learned to laugh and cry and grow" — Beyoncé to Vogue
• "Feeling like you were a joke to your partner of nine years is devastating, but I want to show other women that you don't have to let that hold you back" — Ariana Madix on "Dancing With the Stars" (via Independent)
• "I had moments [where I wondered], 'Am I not sexy enough? Am I not pretty enough? Am I not smart enough?' But in so many of those questions, I immediately stopped and said, 'No, don't start doing that.' Because you can get stuck in that cycle and you can carry on to other things" — Eva Longoria on "The Conversation with Amanda de Cadenet" (via Us Weekly)
• "There were times that I was deeply unsure about whether our marriage could or should survive. But on those days, I asked myself the questions that mattered most to me: Do I still love him? And can I still be in this marriage without becoming unrecognizable to myself — twisted by anger, resentment, or remoteness? The answers were always yes. So I kept going" — Hillary Clinton, who has multiple red flags including infidelity in her marriage to Bill Clinton, to Vogue
• "The best thing about being cheated on is I get to go on more first dates" — Britney Spears while on stage (via People)
• "I am now going to do my very best to show [my children] that alone and happy is better than being in a relationship where there is no trust" — Elin Nordegren to People
• "I feel brand new. I've been to hell and back, but I survived. I'm stronger for it, and now I'm ready for the next phase of my life" — Christina Milian to Latina (via HuffPost)

• "Sometimes you have to give up on people. Not because you don't care but because they don't. A person's actions will tell you everything you need to know. Love yourself enough to say goodbye to those who don't make time for you or don't know how to love you back. Let go of what hurts, even if it hurts to let go" — Jennifer Green in "Winning While Losing: The Upside of Heartbreak"
• "It's better to be alone than with someone who drags you down. Or worse — pretends to lift you up, just to drop you from higher up" — Irina Semikop in "Voluntary Pain"
• "Trust, fidelity and respect are non-negotiable for me in a relationship, and when those values are compromised, there's no real path forward" — Megan Thee Stallion, whose public callout on cheating reminds us the risks of dating as a successful woman, in a statement (via People)
• "'Someone who loves me wouldn't do that to me' is a good enough reason to walk away" — Najwa Zebian
• "I just move forward. It's hard to be clear about who you are when you are carrying around a bunch of baggage from the past. I've learned to let go and move more quickly into the next place" — Angelina Jolie to Cosmopolitan
• "Middle fingers up, put them hands high. Wave 'em in his face. Tell him 'Boy, bye!'" — Beyoncé on "Sorry"
• "Cheating, disloyalty, unfaithfulness — they start out as little things justified by clever reasonings of the brain, but never do they fully convince the knowing heart" — Richelle E. Goodrich in "Being Bold: Quotes, Poetry, & Motivations for Every Day of the Year"
• "Adultery is the ultimate deal-breaker for me. I would rather be alone than in a relationship that doesn't honor me" — Garcelle Beauvais to People
• "Cheating and lying aren't struggles, they're reasons to break up" — Patti Callahan Henry in "Between The Tides"
• "I think allowing yourself to cry on the bathroom floor is fearless. Letting go is fearless. Then, moving on and being all right ... That's fearless, too" — Taylor Swift, who's shared multiple love lessons, in the liner notes of "Fearless" (via People)

• "The goal of forgiveness is not always reunion. Sometimes it is simply freedom, the freedom to move forward without carrying resentment or reopening old pain" — Wholeness coach Folakemi Obasunloye
• "When you forgive, you're not saying what someone did was okay. You're deciding to let go of the burden of stuck and unresolved emotions. Forgiveness allows you to let go of pain and continue with a lighter heart" — Kim Egel, therapist, to Healthline
• "Forgiveness is in the family of letting go. But forgiveness, more specifically for me anyway, is not about forgetting, necessarily" — Shania Twain on "Great Company with Jamie Laing"
• "Forgiveness helped me. I had to forgive him, but I also had to absolve myself for not seeing the warning signs; for choosing this man. Achieving forgiveness lifted an enormous weight off of my shoulders. It made me light in the best way" — Garcelle Beauvais to People
• "Forgiveness works to your time scale and no one else's — however inconvenient that might be" — Sally Baker, senior therapist, to Metro
• "Remember that forgiveness too is a power. To beg for it is a power, and to withhold or bestow it is a power, perhaps the greatest" — Margaret Atwood in "The Handmaid's Tale"
• "Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different" — Oprah Winfrey
• "Forgiving isn't something you do for someone else. It's something you do for yourself. It's saying, 'You're not important enough to have a stranglehold on me.' It's saying, 'You don't get to trap me in the past. I am worthy of a future" — Jodi Picoult in "The Storyteller"
• "We don't forgive people because they deserve it. We forgive them because they need it — because we need it" — Bree Despain in "The Dark Divine"
• "I eventually came to understand that in harboring the anger, the bitterness and resentment towards those that had hurt me, I was giving the reins of control over to them. Forgiving was not about accepting their words and deeds. Forgiving was about letting go and moving on with my life. In doing so, I had finally set myself free" — Isabel Lopez in "Isabel's Hand-Me-Down Dreams: A Memoir"

• "Shame, blame, disrespect, betrayal, and the withholding of affection damage the roots from which love grows. Love can only survive these injuries if they are acknowledged, healed and rare" — Brené Brown in "The Gifts of Imperfection," (because we're only giving you permission to get back with your ex sometimes)
• "To love means to embrace and at the same time to withstand many endings, and many many beginnings — all in the same relationship" — Clarissa Pinkola Estés in "Women Who Run With the Wolves"
• "If we wrote all our past sins on one piece of paper, not a single person would end up with a blank sheet" — Rosella Tran in "All of Us Are Sinners: Karma Release"
• "It really does mean a lot when you can go through something, come out the other end, and just you automatically become stronger for it" — Leigh-Anne Pinnock, who is part of a Hollywood marriage that survived cheating, to People
• "Ultimately, the decision to break up or stay in a relationship should be based on your own feelings, experiences, and needs rather than the opinions of friends" — Denise Renye, clinical psychologist and certified sexologist, to Cosmopolitan
• "The cheating happens because of a confluence of factors. When both parties in a relationship, where there has been cheating, want to work on the relationship, they can move past it" — April Masini, relationship expert, to Hollywood Life (we have advice from a therapist for creating trust when you're dating someone who has cheated before too)
• "Maturity means knowing when a relationship is worth repairing and when continuing to tolerate the same behavior is simply self-abandonment. You can choose reconciliation without abandoning your boundaries" — Olga on Instagram
• "It was the right thing for my life to forgive my husband. And then work at forgetting" — Kathie Lee Gifford to People
• "We have found that the worst chapter of your life doesn't have to be the defining one" — Carl and Laura Lentz to People
• "Second chances are not given to correct the mistakes of the past but to have a fresh start" — Torres and Firsht in "Tell Me Your Plans"

• "I give myself permission to be all that I can be and I deserve the very best in life" — Louise Hay in "Heal Your Body"
• "I refuse to let that one relationship define me" — Sophia Bush to Cosmopolitan
• "I have to love myself more than I love him, in order to leave him" — Kay M. Rutherford in "The Last Cheater's Waltz: Trusting Dog, Trusting Self"
• "I choose to find a life lesson in every situation, even the nasty ones" — Khloe Kardashian (via Us Weekly)
• "It's [their] mistake. Not my mistake. It's not my weight" — Shania Twain on "Great Company with Jamie Laing"
• "You're stepping into the best chapter of your life — you just have to heal first" — Kayla Reid
• "I release what I cannot change and give my energy to what I can still build" — Folakemi Obasunloye
• "Love given with a genuine heart is never wasted, it always leaves something beautiful behind" — Annie Calvert
• "They are their own karma. You don't need to take part in it" — Najwa Zebian
• "Never settle. Don't ever let anyone take your light" — Jana Kramer to Billboard