10 Blunt Reasons Committed Men Still Look At Other Women

Discover the real reasons men have wandering eyes!

A man with dark hair and a beard, wearing sunglasses and a white shirt, looks over his shoulder. A woman, slightly out of focus in the background, also wearing a white shirt, is seated. They are outdoors, possibly on a boat or near water.

The reasons why men look at other women are very important, especially to their partners.

There could be many reasons, not all of them signaling something bad. Here are 10 of them.

1. It’s a natural reaction or force of habit.

A woman holding a clipboard and wearing business attire is standing and smiling at a man sitting at a desk with a computer. The man is also smiling and looking at the woman. They are in a modern office with large windows. A small potted plant is on the desk.

It’s natural to notice beautiful people, and it’s perfectly normal.

Men don’t have complete control over where their eyes look all the time (and nor do women).

Noticing a woman is one thing, but how long they look, how often, and the way they look are a force of habit that they probably learned as teenagers.

If they’re in a relationship they’ll need to unlearn that habit to be fair to their partners and respectful toward women in general.

They shouldn’t feel guilty about simply noticing another woman every now and then though.

However, frequently looking, holding their gaze, and imagining being intimate with them is a lot different than noticing.

2. It makes them feel good.

A man with a serious expression sits behind the wheel of a yellow car, with his hand on the steering wheel. A woman with long hair and wearing dark lipstick sits in the passenger seat, looking straight ahead. The car window is partly rolled down.

Noticing someone attractive can give men a bit of a high. It can be addictive.

The very sight of an attractive woman makes them feel good and gives them a rush that keeps them looking at them.

However, it’s important to establish the difference between noticing and staring. It’s okay to notice, but it’s not okay to stare.

They might be consuming a lot of media that objectifies women, so cutting that off may help.

For now, they need to know that, even though their need might be natural, it probably makes their partner feel like they’re not good enough and causes them to be insecure and unsure of their feelings for them.

Is seeing a pretty woman passing by worth losing the woman sitting next to them?

3. They are not happy in their relationship.

A bearded man with short hair is in the foreground, slightly out of focus, wearing a white shirt. Behind him, a woman with long, wavy hair and a white shirt is in focus, looking sideways and smiling softly. They are in a sunlit room with dark walls.

Maybe they’re not looking at other women; they’re looking for an exit strategy.

They’re looking to get out of a relationship that makes them unhappy.

If they’ve been having problems in their relationship, they might have already decided to look for another partner, even if subconsciously.

Maybe they’re not looking to cheat, but they are looking for a substitute for their girlfriend or wife by seeing what’s out there and imagining how big of a fish they could catch.

Perhaps they think that they’d be happier with someone else and that they could find someone better than their partner.

So they look at other attractive women and think that they would make them happier than their woman does.

This is the wrong thing to do to a woman who cares about them. They should also know that someone’s physical appearance is not an indicator of what their relationship with them might be like.

Either work on the problems in their relationship or end it before moving on to the next potential match.

If they’re already cheating in their head, rest assured that their relationship is suffering the consequences.

4. They are thinking about cheating.

A man wearing sunglasses and a checkered shirt looks to the side while sitting on a bench in a park. A woman with long brown hair, wearing a blue button-up shirt, sits next to him looking down. The background features trees with autumn leaves.

If they’re looking at other women to fantasize about and like to imagine what it would be like to sleep with them, they’re cheating in their head.

While they’re not technically cheating, this micro-cheating can be just as dangerous.

It can even lead to actual cheating.

Doing something like this while they’re in a committed relationship is disrespectful to their partner, but it’s also disrespectful to the women they’re looking at.

Just because a woman dresses a certain way doesn’t mean that she wants to be seen as an object.

Many women like to dress in nice clothes as a personal preference or to feel great about themselves.

Believe it or not, it’s not all about men.

5. They want their partner to pay more attention to them.

Three young professionals are having a discussion in an office. A man, looking distressed, holds his head with his hand, while a woman in front of him is speaking passionately. Another woman sits in the background looking contemplative. A world map is on the wall.

Sometimes, men will look at other women to get their partner to notice them.

If they’ve been feeling neglected and their needs aren’t being met by their partner, their gaze might just be a cry for attention.

They wish their partner would pay more attention to them, and so they give their attention to other women as a means of provoking a reaction from their partner.

As I’m sure you can imagine, this rarely ends well.

6. They are bored and/or distracted.

A woman with blond hair, wearing an off-shoulder striped top, sits at a cafe table with a cup of coffee, looking disinterested or pensive. In the foreground, a blurred man is holding a smartphone, seemingly not engaging with her.

Some men look at other women for no other reason than they are bored or distracted in the moment.

If that’s all there is to it, and it’s not a force of habit, it won’t happen frequently. They won’t rest their eyes on a pretty face; just glance over it.

But still, if a man is bored and/or distracted while they’re with their partner, it’s best to try to refrain from looking around in the hope of seeing something interesting.

They’re basically telling their partner that they’re not interesting enough to them, and that hurts.

7. They are noticing specific things about the other women.

A man and a woman are sitting at a table with wine glasses and a wine bottle in front of them. The woman is smiling brightly, and the man is looking at her with a slight smile. They appear to be enjoying a pleasant moment together in a cozy, brick-walled setting.

Maybe they are not objectifying women. They are just noticing a certain hairstyle, an interesting tattoo, or an attractive perfume.

The point is, they are not thinking about the woman at all, let alone in an attracted sense, they are simply noticing some aspects of what makes her attractive that are familiar to them.

Unlike in the previous examples, they are not attracted to the women, but some details that likely remind them of celebrities or attract their attention for a few seconds.

Maybe they are evaluating their fashion sense, how expensive their outfit is, or the price of their hairstyle.

This is just one of the ways in which a man can look at other women without being attracted to them or seeing them as objects.

8. They are bored with their partner.

A man wearing a gray t-shirt and glasses sits on a couch with a distressed expression, resting his forehead on his fingers. A woman in a yellow shirt and light blue pants sits farther away, looking at him with concern. They are in a bright room with white walls.

Maybe they’re in a long-term relationship and things have fallen into a rut.

They are generally bored with their partner, so their eyes wander in search of excitement.

They notice other women because they’re secretly hoping for a new relationship, which would make things fun and exciting again.

9. Other women are flirting with them.

A woman with blonde hair and glasses holds a white mug, adjusting her glasses with her other hand, while looking at a man with dark hair. The man, wearing a brown jacket, holds a cup and smiles at her. They sit on a couch with a large window in the background.

They could simply be an attractive guy that other women notice!

If they’re looking at other women because they’re looking at them, are they really doing anything wrong?

If they are in a committed relationship, it doesn’t really matter who started it as long as they end it.

An innocent flirt here and there is ok, but doing it in front of their partner is very disrespectful and will only cause insecurity.

It’s important to know the difference between what’s innocent and what’s plain cheating.

10. They are interested in other women.

A man with short hair is adjusting his sunglasses and looking at a woman in the foreground. He is wearing a dark, polka-dotted shirt. The setting appears to be indoors, possibly in a store or a studio with clothing racks in the background.