Hoo boy.
Do Cancer men cheat?
Yes, they can cheat.
There, I said it.
But before all the Cancers come for me, let me explain how things might get to that point.
Do Cancer Men Cheat? Yes, They Can Be Cheaters.
Many Cancer man personality traits seem to run counter to the idea that he would cheat.
You’ve heard he’s incredibly loving, protective, nurturing and loyal.
How could a zodiac sign like this cheat on you?
Aren’t they known for their empathy?
While this is true, they’re also quite a changeable sign.
Their moods change on a dime, and they tend to wrestle with an unsettling sense of emotional instability.
To compensate for this, they look for outside sources of stability.
Usually, this source is a romantic partner.
Feeling grounded by their partners, Cancerians cling to the comfort of their relationships.
Until the ground starts to feel shaky.
Maybe the Cancer man and his partner don’t see eye-to-eye anymore.
They’ve grown increasingly emotionally distant.
The relationship is no longer a source of comfort and security, and the Cancer man starts to feel untethered.
Without the sense of emotional balance he relied on his partner for, he becomes more reckless.
And he may do things that seem out of character—like cheat.
Will All Cancer Men Cheat?
Let me be clear: not all Cancer men will cheat.
However, when they do, it’s almost guaranteed that their relationships were troubled.
But wait—if you’re dating a Cancer man and you’re having relationship problems, is it a guarantee he’s going to be unfaithful?
No, not at all.
For the most part, it’s only unevolved Cancer men who will cheat.
Cancers who haven’t learned how to stop depending on their partners for all their emotional needs.
When a Cancer man becomes his own source of nurturance and stability, he no longer seeks constant validation.
Not from his partner—or from someone outside of the relationship.
So when things go wrong in the relationship, he doesn’t feel lost and out of control.
This is the beginning of the Cancer man’s ability to form sturdy boundaries (and respect yours, too).
Read Next: Will a Cancer Man Come Back If You Ignore Him?
Why Cancer Men Cheat
To Feel Loved
Cancer men don’t cheat to have sex.
They cheat to feel loved.
They will cheat on you if they aren’t feeling loved by you.
If your relationship has gone cold and someone else comes to your Cancer man offering support and affection, it’ll get his attention.
It’s not like he’ll immediately cheat.
But the temptation to self-soothe by replacing the lost affection in your relationship with someone else’s is powerful.
Over time, as this other person keeps delivering the affection, praise and support he feels is missing, he becomes emotionally attached.
Cheating becomes a means of filling the void in his romantic life.
Is this an excuse for his cheating?
Oh, absolutely not.
Cheating is indefensible. It’s always an act of selfishness.
And yes, Cancer men can be very selfish when they feel like they’re not getting what they need.
Because of Their Victimhood Mentality
A Cancer man can justify anything by playing a victim.
He’s a victim of your coldness and emotional neglect.
You don’t care about him anymore.
He can’t survive in these conditions.
He’s suffering.
Then along comes someone offering to save him from his feelings of loneliness and deprivation.
He’ll find a way to spin it in his mind that what he’s doing is a form of emotional self defense.
Yeah, he can get that delulu.
Of course, when you find out he’s cheating, the reality hits him and he feels like a piece of garbage.
But up until that point, he can continue to legitimize his behaviors to himself as necessary for his wellbeing.
He has to do this, or else the guilt will eat him alive.
To End the Relationship
There is no Cancer man on Earth who doesn’t dread having to end a dying relationship.
His crab claws won’t let go, even if he doesn’t want it anymore.
He’d rather go on feeling unfulfilled and victimized than tell you he wants to break up.
Because then where will you go?
Who will you be with?
Will you be happier without him? Happier than him?
All of this makes him feel weird and sad.
Conflicted, he takes the coward’s way out.
Cheating is the atomic bomb that ensures there’s no way the relationship could survive.
He does it unconsciously, though on some level he’s aware of it.
He may tell himself that he’s going to leave you for his side chick.
That she’s a better fit for him. That she loves him more.
As long as he believes he’s not burning bridges; he’s starting a new chapter.
Telling himself this allows him to create a more palatable story.
Even if it ends with you screaming at him and blocking him, at least he can focus on feeling wounded and misunderstood instead of the fact that he was the architect of this situation.
How They Cheat
They Cheat With a Coworker or Friend
A Cancer man is probably not going to cheat on you with a random stranger.
It’s probably going to be with someone he spends a lot of time with.
Like a coworker, or a “friend” he goes to for emotional support.
I put “friend” in quotation marks because this person will likely be someone who was always interested in the Cancer man, and they’ve built an emotional connection with him.
They Gradually Up the Ante
Cancer men take little steps towards cheating, testing the waters as they go.
Like growing their “friendship” with someone and spending more time with them.
Showing more affection towards them and allowing them to get closer.
It’s a slow fall into adultery for a Cancer man.
Until he wakes up and realizes he’s in a full-blown affair.
They Go Back to Their Ex
With their strong sense of nostalgia, Cancer males are the ones who run back to their exes.
They do this when something is wrong in their current relationship and they start getting wistful about how good they had it with an ex-girlfriend.
Cancers will conveniently forget all the reasons they broke up in the first place and fall right back into familiarity.
They Have Emotional Affairs
Many times, Cancer men don’t have physical affairs. They have emotional ones.
Or physical affairs may start as emotional ones.
Either way, a Cancer man won’t cheat without the emotional element.
It has to feel like a deep, genuine connection.
What Doesn’t Mean a Cancer Man Will Cheat
Having a Fight
Just because you and your Cancer man fought about your weekend plans doesn’t mean he’s going to go on the hunt for a replacement for you.
Cancers have a high tolerance for problems within a committed relationship.
This is why they don’t run out and cheat the moment there’s an issue.
It takes a lot to push them to that point.
In other words, it’s going to take repeated, unresolved fights over a long period of time—like maybe a year or more—before the Cancer man even considers being unfaithful.
Being Surrounded by Beautiful Women
Working in an environment where there are tons of gorgeous women around him won’t make him cheat.
Even if he’s a photographer who does regular photo shoots with lingerie models, it doesn’t mean he’s interested in them.
Being loyal means that a Cancer man gives his heart to you.
If he’s happy in his relationship with you, he has no compulsion to look outside of the relationship.
Becoming Withdrawn
Prone to depressive states, Cancer men will become withdrawn when they feel one coming on.
They’ll start shutting you out.
But if a Cancer man is pushing you away lately, it’s not something to immediately become suspicious about.
It’s best to reach out to him to try to find out if something is wrong.
Often it’s a passing thing.
But spending a lot of time alone is not unusual for Cancer men.
It doesn’t automatically mean he’s doing something he shouldn’t be doing.
Signs a Cancer Man Is Cheating
He’s Spending a Ton of Time With Someone Else
If your Cancer man is hanging out with this one person suddenly all the time, I’d be wary of that.
Ordinarily, Cancer folks prefer to spend time with their romantic partner.
Outside of that, they’ll spread their (platonic) attention pretty equally amongst their close friends.
If your Cancer boyfriend is paying an inordinate amount of attention to one person, and it isn’t you?
It could be more than friendship.
He’s Not Reachable at the Usual Times
Cancers are creatures of habit.
You’ll probably know their schedules pretty well.
When you’re suddenly finding that a Cancer man is not answering your texts on his off-work hours for a solid block of time, and this is happening regularly, it could be a sign of cheating.
He Becomes Very Defensive When You Ask About Another Woman
If you were to ask your Cancer guy if he’s seeing someone else, he wouldn’t merely laugh it off.
He wouldn’t even look surprised at you asking.
If he were really cheating, he’d become instantly defensive.
He’d act like you’re in the wrong for even asking.
He’d try to shut it down so quickly, you’d almost feel like a jerk for asking.
This is the Cancer man’s guilty conscience coming through.
He knows you’re onto him.
He Starts Fights
When a Cancer man doesn’t want to be with you anymore, he starts making the relationship intolerable.
He’ll pick fights for no reason.
And he’ll blame them on you.
Starting fights doesn’t in and of itself mean he’s cheating, but it’s one of the ways he destroys the relationship as an excuse for moving on with someone else.
He’s Extra Moody With You
Cancers are moody by default, but a Cancer man who seems like he’s always in a bad mood around you is suspect.
You’re walking on eggshells all the time.
Everything you do seems like it annoys him.
This will happen when he cheats because it fuels his narrative that you’re not right for each other.
He’s Cold and Distant
A Cancer man is only able to give his emotional attention to one person at a time.
Thus, when he’s cheating, he has no more to give to you.
He’s not affectionate anymore.
Time spent together feels forced.
There’s clearly a wall up when he’s with you.
He Isn’t Open With You Anymore
You used to be the one he told everything to.
Now he barely tells you what he ate for lunch.
If this is the case, there might be someone else he’s sharing his world with now.
What to Do When a Cancer Man Cheats on You
When a Cancer man cheats on you, he’s going to act like he’s the victim if you find out.
He’ll behave like he was driven to do it by a cold and cruel partner.
You might be hurt, but he’s hurting too.
Don’t buy into this.
Demand that he acknowledges that it was his choice to cheat.
No matter what was wrong in the relationship, the Cancer man needs to understand that cheating is never acceptable.
The right thing to do would have been to confront what was bothering him, face-to-face with you.
But obviously it’s gone past that point.
If the Cancer man succeeds in getting you to feel bad for him, he’ll feel justified about what he did.
It’s important not to let him get caught up in his own sob story.
I won’t tell you whether you should stay with him or not, because that’s a decision for you to make.
What I will tell you is that it’s crucial for him to learn how to communicate with you when something is wrong.
Having regular check-ins with each other would be a good place to start.
This gives the Cancer man regular opportunities to share what’s on his mind—and you can share what’s on yours, too.
When there’s continuous communication and light brought to the issues, there’s no room for the Cancer man to do what he wants in the shadows.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cancer Men
Are Cancers faithful in relationships?
Cancers are ordinarily very faithful in relationships when they’re feeling secure within them.
A troubled relationship can be fertile grounds for a Cancer to consider being unfaithful.
However, Cancers are not necessarily prone to cheating any more than other signs.
It’s more that the Cancerian needs to have learned how to be more emotionally resilient and not depend on others to create their sense of balance and happiness.
That, and they need good communication skills.
What are the chances of Cancer cheating?
Cancers only cheat when they feel like their partners are not willing or able to show them love and support anymore.
But not all Cancers will cheat on you.
The chances of being cheated on by a Cancer increase if the Cancer has no sense of emotional independence and blames you for all their problems.
How does a Cancer man break up with you?
A Cancer man breaks up with you by making a slow exit.
He becomes emotionally divested from the relationship over time.
He closes off to you and stops trying to nurture your bond.
It’s like he’s trying to become like a ghost in your relationship, until you’re a couple in name only.
When is a Cancer man losing interest?
You know a Cancer man is losing interest when he stops attempting to get close to you.
He’s no longer trying to spend time with you.
He’s polite, but he’s only cordial with you.
There is no sense of intimacy between you and he seems to be trying to keep his distance.
Do Cancers get over relationships easily?
Cancers do not get over relationships easily.
This is not a zodiac sign that moves on quickly.
Often, Cancers romanticize a relationship after a breakup.
They ignore reality so they can torture themselves about it.
How to make a Cancer man miss you after a breakup?
You don’t have to do much to make a Cancer man miss you after a breakup.
He probably already does.
But if you wanted to get back together with him, the way to go would be to reach out to him and show you still care about him.
Offer him nurturing and support.
He’ll definitely miss you.
I'm a professional astrologer and psychology enthusiast. I offer lots of free relationship advice and astrology dating tips as well as private consultations at decodethezodiac.com.