This story is available exclusively to Business Insider
subscribers. Become an Insider
and start reading now.Have an account? .
Infidelity is rampant in prestige TV — where would your favorite drama be without cheating spouses and scandalous affairs?
From soap operas to modern fare, cheating on TV has a long history. Here are the TV characters who didn't abide by the rules of monogamy.
Don Draper of "Mad Men" cheated every time he got the chance.
Don Draper is a notorious cheater.
AMC
From the first season, all the way through to the last, Don was incapable of staying faithful to his partners.
"Mad Men" was ostensibly a show about advertising — but it was really a character study of a man with a fake identity who couldn't help but cheat on every woman he was ever with.
Tony Soprano of "The Sopranos" acted like having a "goumada" was his right.
Soprano cheated with many women.
HBO
In "The Sopranos," Tony seemingly cheated with no guilt whatsoever. Hiding behind his culture, he seemed to think it would've been weirder for him not to cheat.
Ironically, his wife Carmela decided she'd had enough around the same time that he seemed to be downshifting the infidelity.
Issa cheated on Lawrence in "Insecure," leading to their breakup.
The creator explored the idea of a woman cheating.
HBO
"Insecure" creator Issa Rae was excited to explore the ramifications of a cheating woman.
"The idea of a woman cheating is so bewildering for a lot of men," she told Entertainment Weekly, "like it's a huge mark of betrayal for them in a way that's kind of a double standard."
Carrie Bradshaw and Big cheated together on "Sex and the City."
Carrie and Big always seem to cheat.
HBO
Carrie had an affair with ex Big while she was dating everyone's favorite nice-guy furniture designer, Aidan, and Big was married to his much younger wife, Natasha.
After Carrie told Aidan what was going on, they tried to keep the relationship going — but ultimately broke up. And Big's relationship blew up in his face when Natasha discovered Carrie in their apartment.
Annalise Keating in "How to Get Away With Murder" had an extramarital dalliance.
This character, a lawyer, started hooking up with a detective to keep her love life spicy.
Still, as Bustle pointed out, she still got angry with Sam when she found out he was being unfaithful. Infidelity is a complicated thing.
The central drama in "Gossip Girl" sprung from a cheating scandal.
The incident caused drama between Serena and Blair.
Warner Bros. Television
"Gossip Girl" opened with two former best friends, Blair and Serena, embroiled in a bitter feud because Blair's boyfriend, Nate, may or may not have hooked up with Serena.
Nate's far from the only "Gossip Girl" character to struggle with the concept of monogamy. The show piled on an affair after affair every season.
Gabby from "Desperate Housewives" cheated on her husband with none other than the gardener.
Gabby cheated when her husband was at work.
ABC
Like a 1950s comedy routine come to life, Eva Longoria's character on "Desperate Housewives" took to canoodling with the help when her husband was at work.
Piper from "Orange Is the New Black" cheated in jail.
Piper and Alex reunited in jail.
JoJo Whilden/Netflix
The first season of the series dragged out the tension between Piper and Alex until they finally hooked up. While Piper had a fiancé at the beginning of the series, that didn't last long as her ex-girlfriend landed in the same jail as she did.
President Fitzgerald Grant in "Scandal" expected to hide his affair from the masses.
Pope used the affair to her advantage.
ABC
Olivia Pope taught a master class in how to weaponize your affair against your cheating partner when she threatened to expose the president if he didn't choose her.
It's probably not the best tactic for a lasting relationship, but it was certainly great TV.
Desi on "Girls" was a flagrant cheater — and Marnie cheated on him later on.
Desi and Marnie got married.
HBO
On "Girls," Desi decided to casually start hooking up with Marnie, his musical partner, despite already having a girlfriend named Clementine.
He and Marnie ended up getting married, but in the end, Marnie continued the cheating chain by hooking up with her ex-boyfriend, Charlie.
Rory Gilmore shocked fans by cheating with Logan, who was engaged, in the latest installment of "Gilmore Girls."
Rory surprised fans.
Netflix
Fans were irate that Rory could do such a thing to her boyfriend Paul, even though Logan had been a crowd favorite since early in the series.
Joel Maisel from "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" became a 1960s cliche.
He left his wife for his secretary.
Amazon
Joel left his wife Midge for his secretary in the first episode, reducing him to a punchline for the rest of the first season, even when he tried to win Midge back.
