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Johannesburg - There’s a line in Kanye West/Jay-Z’ track No Church In The Wild that says, “love is cursed by monogamy” – and there’s a whole lot of cheating going around on TV to support that theory.
If you want to see married folk getting some action on the side, ShowMax has an awesome line-up of shows to add some excitement to your life. We’re not saying go ahead and do it yourself, but why not indulge your fantasies for a moment?
1. The Affair
Don’t miss the masterful storytelling technique in this series about the affair between Alison, a young married woman struggling to deal with the death of her first child (Ruth Wilson), and Noah (Dominic West), a seemingly happily married father of four. The series shares the history of what happened from both Alison and Noah’s perspectives, reminding us that we should never trust our memories – or the people we love.
So why do we cheat?
“Those in happy relationships sometimes find themselves cheating after a tragedy or hardship, like a death in the family,” says Joburg-based psychologist Manini Mofokeng. That would explain Alison’s situation.
But what about men who appear perfectly happy in their marriages like Noah before he met Alison? “We live in a society where we constantly want more than we already have because we’re made to believe there’s always something or someone better out there,” she says.
2. Satisfaction
Realising that happily-ever-after isn’t always enough is the struggle facing Grace (Stephanie Szostak) in Satisfaction. When her husband Neil (Matt Passmore) catches her in bed with a male escort, she struggles to decide whether to hold onto Neil and work on bringing the spark back into their marriage, or walk away completely.
That’s until Neil finds a peculiar way to please her and revive their dying romance by becoming an escort himself. Not only is it a much-needed cash boost, but it revs up his sexual appetite and Grace doesn’t need any convincing to stay with her husband.
Sometimes the need to stray seems built in. In Californication, Hank Moody (David Duchovny) just doesn’t seem to be able to help himself. He’s an alcoholic, serial womaniser whose marriage largely fell apart because of his wayward ways.
“Some people cheat because they’re genuinely unhappy in a relationship, but sometimes it can be because they feel they lost a part of themselves when they entered the relationship,” says Manini.
This seems to be the case with Carrie and Big (Sarah Jessica Parker and Chris Noth) in Sex And The City – Carrie cheats on her boyfriend Aidan (John Corbett), while Big is unfaithful to his wife Natasha (Bridget Moynahan).
4. Mad Men
“Emotionally, it’s possible to have feelings for more than one person at a time, but actually loving more than one person isn’t easy,” says Manini. “Infidelity is seldom a rational choice, usually driven by emotions and circumstance.”
Mad Men’s Don Draper (Jon Hamm) seems to cheat in response to his massively successful career and swarms of admirer. Don plays the good husband to wife Megan (Jessica Paré), but he’s got a string of women on call, including his ex-wife Betty (January Jones). This has complicated consequences for Don (and makes intriguing viewing for us), but he’s not too cut up about it because, hey, there are many more women waiting in line.
Affairs may not be the best way to start a relationship but they sure make for great television viewing.
Find it on ShowMax
• The Affair seasons 1 - 2
• Californication seasons 1 to 7
• Satisfaction season 1
• Sex and the City seasons 1 to 6
• Mad Men seasons 1 to 7
*This article is sponsored. Channel24 is part of Media24, a subsidiary of Naspers.
(Photos supplied)
