Top 10 Movie Cheaters and Adulterers

You can’t really blame someone for leaving an abusive spouse and taking off with her girlfriend. You can’t even really be mad at them when they find someone new while they’re still married to said spouse. And when that “someone new” happens to be a ridiculously handsome hitchhiker, played by Brad Pitt, well, you stand and applaud. That is, until you find out that her one-night stand took off with all her money. That part did not work out so well.

When you suspect your husband of cheating, you might go to great lengths to catch them in the act. You might even try to hire a call-girl to tempt him into infidelity. What you’re probably not betting on is ending up getting involved with the call-girl yourself. So, while Dr. Stewart may have been looking to set her husband up in a “gotcha” scenario, she ended up getting “got” instead. And that’s when things get really heated.

There’s nothing like young love. Especially when you’re a teenage girl betrothed to a man you can’t stand. And when you’re a teenage girl trapped in a loveless engagement, you’re probably going to stray, especially if you meet a charming cutie like Jack Dawson. With the majesty of a luxurious, but doomed, cruise liner as a backdrop, it was only a matter of time before she fell for the dashing young artist. Also, pro-tip: ill-fated romances make for the best car hookups.

When you’re plotting to have your husband killed, cheating is probably the lesser offense when compared to premeditated murder. This scheming weather girl leveraged her affair with a teenage boy into the subsequent murder of her sugar daddy of a husband. She was a master of manipulation, and used sex as a means to an end, to the demise of both her unwitting spouse and her squad of teen henchmen.

The romance between these two cowboys was bittersweet, both because of the intensity of their love for each other and the fact that they had to keep it hidden. Yeah, they were both cheating on their wives for years, and we probably should’ve totally hated them for it, but you couldn’t help but root for them to be together. This is one instance where we kinda wished the spouses were out of the picture entirely.

When the going gets tough, the tough head to Vegas. And then they happen upon billionaires who want to pay money to sleep with their wives. For a down-on-their-luck couple, an offer of a million dollars for one night of boots-knocking with the wife might’ve seemed like a boon. But when Mrs. Murphy fulfilled her part of the bargain, the money was just the start of this once-happy couple’s problems.

Harrison Ford is known for playing a college professor who gets into all kinds of adventures, but this time, his activities are a little more salacious. He plays a professor with a wandering eye who gets to know one of his students a little too “intimately.” It’s an affair that has deadly and supernatural after-affects, and surprisingly enough, Ford isn’t the hero this time, in case the whole cheating professor thing didn’t make that clear. Also, how anyone cheats on Michelle Pfeiffer, we’ll never know.

College students are faced with a lot of tough decisions as they transition fully into adulthood. But this particular college grad seemed to have a little more on his plate. He starts up an affair with an older, married woman after being not-so-subtly seduced. However, he soon realizes that he wants more from a relationship than the physical. And that’s just about when he falls for her daughter – awkward! Say what you will about his choice in women, but at least he keeps it in the family.

So, it’s really not a surprise that Diane Lane’s character would fall for the gorgeous bookstore owner with a lusty French accent. It’s fairly understandable. What’s even more understandable is how we see Diane Lane’s character process her own infidelity. She’s simultaneously tormented by and inextricably drawn to a passion that can only lead to disaster. Of course, once her husband finds out, that’s when things really start to go downhill.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- Charles Schine
“Derailed” (2005)
- Stu Shepard
“Phone Booth” (2002)
- Susannah Fincannon-Ludlow
“Legends of the Fall” (1994)
- Charles McCarter
“Diary of a Mad Black Woman” (2005)
- John Tucker
“John Tucker Must Die” (2006)

We’re guessing Mr. Gallagher wasn’t planning on having to deal with assassinated bunny rabbits when he was getting it on with Alex Forrest in that elevator. The appeal and excitement of his brief affair quickly gave way to stalking, harassment, and then attempted murder. Death always seems to make an appearance wherever cheating is involved, at least in the movies, which makes us wonder if the affairs are even worth it. Consider yourselves warned.

Do you agree with our list? Who do you think is film’s most prolific cheater or adulterer? For more entertaining Top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.