Men With This Specific Face Shape Are More Likely To Cheat, According To Research

Does your partner have this face shape?

By Caitlin Butkiewicz — Last updated on Nov 04, 2023

Photo: Peopleimages.com - YuriArcurs / Canva

Man and woman upset with each other and not talking

Usually, when someone cheats in a relationship, we automatically assume it’s because they were unhappy or unsatisfied for some specific reason.

But research says some men can’t help but cheat — all based on their type of face.

That's right, there is a certain type of men who are most likely to cheat.

According to the results of a 2018 study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, researchers have linked facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) to certain behavioral characteristics.

More specifically, they found that men with shorter, wider faces have a higher drive and are more likely to cheat than those with longer, more narrow faces.

To prove their initial hypothesis, two studies were conducted by a team of researchers from Nipissing University, Simon Fraser University, the University of Ottawa, and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in Canada.

In the first study, 145 heterosexual students (69 males and 76 females) who were currently in relationships were asked to complete a questionnaire about their intimate behaviors.

The dimensions of their faces were then measured using photographs the participants had provided.

"Horizontal lines represent the distance between the upper lip and the highest point of the eyelids (upper-face height); vertical lines represent the maximum distance between the left and right facial boundary (bizygomatic width). fWHR was calculated as bizygomatic width divided by upper-face height."

In doing so, the team found that FWHR was positively correlated with drive in men.

In the second study, not only did researchers examine the link between fWHR and drive, but they also examined intended infidelity and sociosexuality, which is an individual's level of willingness to engage in casual intimacy outside of a committed relationship.

This time, a total of 314 students, 43% of whom were male, were recruited from a different college in Canada, about 350 km from the location where the first study took place.

They went through the same steps as those involved in the first study. In addition, they were then asked questions about their tendencies toward cheating.

This time around, researchers again found a correlation between fWHR and drive. They also uncovered a similar correlation between sociosexuality and intentional infidelity among men, although not among women.

This research does show a strong correlation between face shape and a tendency toward high drive and cheating in men.

However, it should be noted that the research methodology involved some significant limitations.

While the findings held true when ethnicity and sexual orientation were accounted for, BMI information was only collected and controlled for in the first of the two studies.

Additionally, the research only involved college students, making us wonder if the results would be similar if they'd included a more mature — and actually legally married — population.