I imagine cheating has been around since couples began comitting to each other in marriage or otherwise. It’s been the theme of books like Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter,” and in music, most notably, “Your Cheatin’ Heart” by Hank Williams. A more contemporary musical view on the subject is Sloan’s “The Other Man.”

“To be the other man
No one sympathises
When you’re the other man
Everyone despises”

Yes, society has not taken kindly to those engaged in such activity. I won’t get into the whole “sin” thing, but that’s a dimension many have to wrestle with. Basicly it’s just dishonest, but it doesn’t necessesarily mean the participants are awful people. Writing about the 2002 film, “Unfaithful” with Diane Lane and Richard Gere, film critic Roger Ebert describes the protagonists as “two reasonably sane adults who get themselves into an almost insoluble dilemma.” Still, for those with a conscience, infidelity can create years of tormenting guilt and human cost, magnified further when there are children involved.

In spite of the risk, pain, guilt and cost of infidelity, recent surveys show that nearly 25% of men and 12% of women have cheated. That translates into millions and is considered a viable market for a new line of greeting cards called the “Secret Lover Collection.” Playing off the U2 classic “With or Without You,” one card reads,

“It seems that I can’t live with you and I can’t live without you… Let’s live our lives together and finally be one. Our relationship is like an emotional rollercoaster. I just want us to be happy together. I can’t imagine not having you in my life. Let’s start living our lives for “us.” I love you, let’s make our two lives one.”

So what do you think of the Secret Lover Collection? Shameless exploitation or smart entrepreneurship?