What Does a Dream About Cheating Mean?

Last Updated on May 6, 2020 by Cassandra Nostredame

Sometimes, you dream about pleasant things like accomplishing one of your goals in life. Unfortunately, nightmares can often happen. One of the worst experiences is to dream about cheating. When you have this type of dream, you awake in a panic as you wonder if it is based in reality. Is your partner actually cheating? Does this represent your own subconscious desire to cheat? What does it really mean?

Enhance your understanding of your dreams by taking this time to learn how to interpret your dreams about relationships.

What Does a Dream About Cheating Mean?

Unfortunately, this is a very common dream to have. A number of people dream about cheating. Either they dream that their partner is cheating, or they dream that they are the ones cheating. These emotionally disturbing dreams can wake you up and make it impossible to sleep for hours afterward. Often, this type of dream is a reflection of a guilty conscience, a deep fear, past betrayals or a low self-esteem.

You Dreamed That You Are Cheating

Even when you are happily in love, a part of your subconscious mind may find other people attractive. At the very least, you still have memories of liking other people or dating other people. Sometimes, these memories slip into your dreams. If this is the only reason for the dream, it is nothing to worry about. You should actually be happy—if you knew you were cheating in the dream, then your subconscious obviously recognizes that you are taken and is trying to block these thoughts.

In other cases, people dream about cheating because they have a guilty conscience. If you have cheated on your current or past partners, then you may still feel guilty or ashamed about it. The dream may be warning you away from cheating again, or it may just be a reflection of your guilt. In some cases, you are just guilty about being attracted to someone else. You may have never planned on cheating, but you are afraid of that attraction.

Some people also dream about cheating because they feel like they do not deserve that they are worthy of their partner. A part of their subconscious mind may want to sabotage the relationship so that they do not have to feel insecure anymore. In these cases, the dream stems from a lack of self-esteem and low self-worth.

For other people, a dream about cheating is just a reflection of a natural desire. If you have been in a relationship for a long time, it is natural for things to get a bit routine or boring. Your subconscious may be merely trying to spice things up. It gave you a dream of a new sexual adventure, but another part of you knew that this excitement was wrong. If this was the reason why you dream about cheating, then it is important to re-focus on your current relationship. Go on a romantic getaway or do something else to spice things up.

You Dreamed That Your Partner Was Cheating

This is the type of cheating dream that keeps you awake at night. It is the one that you worry about and are afraid to return to sleep because of. While dreaming about a cheating partner is common, it does not make the experience any easier to bear. There are a number of different reasons why this kind of dream happens, so you have to analyze exactly what happened in the dream and what is going on in your waking life.

Sometimes, dreams of a cheating partner are because you have a low self-esteem. You may feel like you are not worth your partner, so your subconscious almost expects them to cheat. You may feel insecure about your personality, looks or intelligence. Because of these insecurities, you are afraid that your partner will leave you eventually. These insecurities could also be due to your past. If you were betrayed by a past partner, you may feel insecure about the faithfulness of your new significant other.

Other people have this type of dream because of a guilty conscience. Many, many cheaters accuse a partner of cheating without any justification. This happens because they are projecting their behavior on to their partner. Even if you never actually cheated, you may have found someone attractive or been faced with the opportunity to cheat. A part of you may fear that your partner was given the same opportunity and decided to actually use it.

I Dreamed That My Boyfriend Was Cheating on Me. Will This Actually Happen?

In the majority of cases, dreams about cheating do not mean that your partner is actually cheating on you or will cheat. Most of the time, these dreams just reflect what is going on with your mind and your feelings. In very, very rare cases, the dream could reflect what is going on in real life. You may have subconsciously picked up on a mannerism change or sudden odd behaviors that made your subconscious think that your partner is cheating. If you are one of these very rare cases, then it is possible that your partner could be cheating—but, remember, it is still not likely that he is.

If none of the previous reasons for the dream seem true, then your subconscious may be picking up on cues that your partner is unhappy or cheating. If you think that your relationship could do some work, the best thing that you could do is talk to your partner about it. You have a chance to fix things, and your subconscious is trying to nudge you to make changes. It is always better to fix something in the relationship before it is a major problem, so just talk to your partner about it.

Interestingly, dreams about cheating are one of the top five most common dreams. In the majority of cases, these cheating dreams are not actually related to any infidelity. Instead, they are normally about your own feelings of insecurity or low self-esteem. They may be a type of wish fulfillment or reflect a fear of abandonment.

Some of the Most Common Cheating Dreams

To make your dream analysis a little easier, we will go through some of the most common types of cheating dreams that can happen.

1. You Get Caught Cheating

Eek! We hope this never happens to you in real life. If you dream that you are caught cheating, it might mean that you feel guilty about something in your real life. This could be something in your relationship, or it could be a lie you told at work.

2. You Cheated on Your Signification Other

This dream generally happens because you feel guilt about something or feel like you betrayed your partner. Your subconscious may also be reflecting a situation where you acted dishonestly or cheated on something (or someone).

3. You Cheated on Your Partner With Someone You Know

In this type of dream, you cheated on your partner with a friend, an ex or someone that you actually know. Most likely, this does not mean that you are actually going to follow through. It may be your subconscious reminding you that you are spending too much time on someone or something and not enough time on your relationship. It could also reflect a physical attraction to the person, but it does not mean that you actually plan on acting on that attraction.

4. You Were Partner Swapping

This is an interesting cheating dream because you were not actually cheating. If you were having a swingers night and your partner accepted it in the dream, you were actually acting within the rules of the relationship. In general, this type of dream about cheating shows that you want to shake things up in your relationship and break out of the routine. It could also mean that you are attracted to the other couple.

5. You Are the Other Woman (or Man)

You are single, so you are not the one cheating. Instead, you are helping someone else cheat. This might mean that you feel guilty or not valued in your real life. It also may reflect a flirtation with the taboo or a physical attraction toward the other person.

6. Your Significant Other Cheats on You

A number of people dream about being cheated on, but it generally does not mean that your partner is actually doing anything wrong. You may feel taken for granted of in your relationship, or you may fear getting abandoned. You may think that you do not measure up to the expectations of other people like your partner. You may also just be secure. In extremely rare instances, your subconscious may have picked up on subtle cues that your partner is cheating on it, but this is probably not the case.

7. You Are Cheating With Multiple Partners

If you dreamed that you were cheating with multiple partners, your dream world is far more adventurous than mine has ever been. If you suddenly had an orgy in your dream, it may reflect that you feel guilty or insecure. It may also mean that you want to experiment in your sex life and would like to try something new. This does not mean that you want a mass orgy, but it may mean that it is time to spice things up. A dream about cheating with multiple partners may also mean that you feel like you are pulled in too many directions in your waking life and feel like you can't possibly do everything that you need to do.