• Trend of high-profile affairs speaks to public interest but is not a blanket affirmation
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It has been a big week on cheating allegations and scandals this past week. Maroon 5 bandleader Adam Levine was wrapped up in a viral video that alleged that he has been having an affair.
Last Tuesday, social media influencer Sumner Stroh took to the video-sharing platform TikTok to break the news about her infidelity with the musician. Stroh alleged she had been having the affair with Levine for a year before ending things. Levine later texted Stroh if she was okay with him naming his unborn child ‘Sumner’. Stroh provided screenshots of the messages from Levine.
The Internet went wild! Having an affair was one thing, but wanting to name your child after the mistress was unforgivable, according to fans. Levine is married to Namibian supermodel and Victoria Secret Angel, Behati Prinsloo. Prinsloo had just announced her third pregnancy on Instagram four days prior!
A few days later, another celebrity affair went viral. Boston Celtics head coach, Ime Udoka, was suspended from the team after having a romantic relationship with a female staff member that violated the team’s policies. Udoka has been in a relationship with Hollywood actress Nia Long since 2010 and the couple have one child together.
We have all heard the saying, all men cheat. Is this really a saying, though? I wonder. Didn’t someone just come up with it either to make an excuse for men having extramarital affairs or excuse men from the consequences of having those affairs? I imagine that statement to represent someone who would just throw their hands up in the air in a ‘what can you do about it’ manner.
Let’s travel back in time and look at all the notable celebrity affirms that have made headlines. Jay-Z has an affair on the world’s bestselling female singer of all time. We don’t know anything about it until the ‘elevator smackdown’ goes viral. We still don’t know any details until Beyoncé sings about Becky with the good hair.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates’ affair was tumultuous for him. He was forced to step down as the CEO of Microsoft as he went through a rather public divorce.
Amazon’s founder and CEO Jeff Bezos was once the richest man in the world. His net worth, however, was about to take a tumble as he went through a very public and very nasty divorce. As it so happened, Bezos had sent numerous nude photos to a woman with some very explicit messages. The photos were later published in all major newspapers and websites all over the world! Since Bezos and his wife started the company together, their divorce could be detrimental to the company’s survival.
The list of celebrities with high-profile affairs is very long. Jesse Williams of Grey’s Anatomy, Gerald Piqué and Shakira, Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie... even the new king of the UK once had an affair with his now-wife Camilla.
All these affairs have something in common: the element of shock. The news of these affairs made its way all over the world as these are some of the most renowned and beloved people on the planet. If such high-profile people can be reckless enough to have extramarital affairs, knowing very well what is at stake and what the consequences would be, I wonder, then, if there is any hope for mere mortals like ourselves.
We technically categorise all men as cheaters because there are more men who cheat than those who do not. Moreover, the news of cheaters is more ‘interesting’ than the stories of happily committed men. Perhaps this is why we hardly hear inspiring stories of couples who have stayed committed to each other.
However, there are men who don’t cheat. My argument remains the same until proven otherwise. If Barrack Obama was the most vilified president of his time and he did cheat, surely someone out there would have found great pleasure in exposing him. If they have not, it means he has never cheated and knowing that gives us a little bit of hope.