Why Women Ignore Their Husbands' Infidelity

Though publicly shunned, infidelity is widespread in America. In 2008, The General Social Survey, widely considered the most reliable source for infidelity trends, found that in any given year, about 10 percent of married people—12 percent of men and 7 percent of women—say they have had sex outside their marriage. And a total of about 15 percent of people say they have stepped out on their spouse at least once in their lifetime. Other surveys report much higher infidelity rates.

What Should Elin Do?
With the number of Woods' alleged mistresses hitting 14 last week, the public consensus seems to be that Elin—who is young and gorgeous at 29 and sure to become a celebrity in her own right after this mess if she so chooses—would be making the right choice in initiating a divorce.

"The problem with the Tiger situation is the multiplicity of women with whom he's allegedly been involved, which alludes to the fact that fidelity may be a recurring issue or that he may even suffer from a sexual addiction," says Kimberly Dawn Neumann, author of The Real Reasons Men Commit: Why He Will—or Won't—Love, Honor and Marry You and founder of DatingDivaDaily.com.

"As someone who was once involved with and ultimately had to leave a man who had a coital compulsion, I can attest that the recidivism rate is high. Trust will be an ongoing issue for Elin even if she tried to repair their relationship with a ton of couple's therapy. And without trust, a relationship will not survive." Read: Could Couples Therapy Really Save Us?

Not every marriage survives an affair. Despite the Hillary Clintons and Silda Spitzers of yore, earlier this month, Jenny Sanford, wife of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, filed for divorce, citing infidelity.

At press time, Elin's own marital status is up in the air. Despite reports last week that a divorce is "100 percent on," the celebrity website TMZ reported Monday that Mrs. Woods is conflicted about ending her marriage.

It's impossible to know whether Elin was looking the other way while Tiger canoodled with his alleged tigresses. But experts agree that what she does now is a personal choice.

"The bottom line is as the public looking in you have no right to judge someone else’s decisions," Vaughan says. "They know more about their marriage."

Think your husband is having an affair?
Here's what you should do.

1. Don't confront him until you know what you'll do with the information, advises Vaughan. Do you really want to know the truth, or are you just hoping for reassurance?

2. Be open to the prospect of either staying or leaving, in order to make the best decision.

3. Don't make the decision to divorce too quickly, or you will forever second-guess yourself.

4. If you do decide to stay, it takes about two years for the marriage to recover if both partners are committed to working on it.

5. If you are interested in having an open relationship, says Tessina, both parties must be committed to knowing and sharing the truth. Portrait Of An Open Marriage