In the immortal words of Avril Lavigne: “Hey hey, you you, I
don't like your girlfriend / No way, no way, I think you need a new one / Hey
hey, you you, I could be your girlfriend...”
Do I need to apologize for subjecting you to that? I almost
feel as if I do. But it serves my point, I swear. Let’s say that the song was
not titled “Girlfriend,” but instead was called “Mate Poaching.” Admittedly, it
doesn’t really have the same ring to it, but that is essentially what she’s
talking about.
Most women would probably admit that at some point in their
life, they have been attracted to someone who is already in a relationship, but
they would never think of trying to do anything to lure the man away from his mate. However, for some women, they only seek out committed
men to have a relationship with.
Mate Poaching is a term coined by David Buss several years
ago in his book entitled “Evolution of Desire” that defines the behavior of men
and women who purposely seek out people in a committed relationship.
A study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
by Oklahoma State University found that 90% of single women said they would
pursue the man knowing he was not single.
Why do women Mate Poach?
There are several perceived benefits such as the excitement of an
affair, the feeling of being “chosen” over someone else, being lavished with
expensive gifts, and the feelings of power and control because there is no
commitment on the part of the “poacher”.
Although some of these women may say they don’t need a man, most do
desire a committed relationship and there are three reasons that may contribute
to a woman engaging in Mate Poaching.
- Low Self Esteem – Women with low self-esteem oftentimes have
a belief that they are not good enough to be “the wife”. Sometimes, they have been abused or
mistreated in a relationship so their defense mechanism against being hurt
again is to seek after relationships they know will not be a committed
one. The woman may also relate her self
worth to her appearance so she will feel good about herself when she can
successfully “catch” a committed man.
- Sex Addiction – For women who are sex addicts, Mate Poaching
is a behavior they want to stop doing, but are unable to stop without help
through therapy. There are several
factors that contribute to a women becoming a sex addict including childhood
sexual abuse. Sex addicts may feel
guilty and ashamed, but will continue Mate Poaching even after suffering bad
consequences unless they seek professional help.
- Power & Control – Some women will say they Mate Poach
because they like being the “one in control” of the relationship…that they can
“leave it anytime they want” and there are no “strings attached”. The truth is that when a person must feel
like they are in “control” of a relationship, it is usually because they have a
fear of abandonment or commitment. They
may have a need to feel safe because they have been abused or hurt in the past
and so they think if they “control” a man, they feel safe. In reality, the woman engaging in “Mate
Poaching” is controlled by the desires of the married man. He is the one who
chooses when to see her, if he will leave his partner, and is usually the one
who ends the affair
There are also various and escalating strategies that poachers
use to capture and keep their prey.
- “Pollyanna” Strategy: The poacher shyly makes eye contact.
“I have so much to learn from you,” she’ll simper. Or, “All I want is to make
your life easier,” she’ll offer with an adoring smile. She’ll unexpectedly
drop-in on the target for a quick daily connection, or send cutesie emails and
admiring texts that have nothing to do with work. (What married man doesn’t
want someone who makes him feel important and smart and who offers to make his
life easier?)
- “Family Friend” Strategy: A poacher insinuates herself into
the personal life of the target (think nannies, but not limited to). She
calculatedly befriends the target’s wife, children, parents and friends;
keeping her eye on the prize, your husband and his income.
- “We’re Just Colleagues” Strategy: Long hours working on a
project, whether it be with a woman of equal or lesser professional status
translates into meals, drinks, and business trips that look and sound like
innocent work encounters. Nothing he couldn’t tell you about—yet. But he
doesn’t. That’s how an emotional affair begins. The poacher persuades the
target that he’s unhappy with his wife. Add a touch on the arm; deep soulful
eye contact, whispers and murmurs of agreement and understanding. Sexual tension
crackles. They’re not actually having sex, but she’s in his head, and you, the
wife, are not.
In Japan, they have “conversation girls,” where wealthy
Japanese men pay to “talk” to a woman for the evening. A poacher uses
flirtatious conversation over a long period of time to worm her way into the
heart and fantasies of your husband.
- The “Gym/Yoga/Pilates Temptress” Strategy: An aggressive
strategy in which the poacher moves quickly: she’s an instructor, fellow gym
rat or classmate. Tight-fitting workout clothes, hands-on adjustments, sexually
suggestive positions, fantasy-inducing conversations about meditation, tantric
sex, or yogasms abound. Add lots of leaning in, brushing against, and lip
moistening to make the target feel desired, virile, young and strong, plus
invitations to meet for drinks after class, and he’s almost cooked.
- “Free Spirit” Strategy: She’s the solution to her target’s
burdened feelings of family obligation, boredom or neglect. She’s available
whenever he wants her. (One yoga instructor was so determined to poach a male
client who’s wife was battling a terrible illness, that she arranged to be in
the same city, 3,000 miles away when her target was on a business trip. She
invited him for drinks at her hotel bar, a drink in her room. He was flattered.
Her strategy worked. After all, she’d made a superhuman effort to be available
to him when his wife could not.)
- “Non-Exclusive Strategy”: When the target hasn’t made
sufficient progress in leaving his wife and family, a poacher lets her target
know that she’s seeing other men, and that she’s not exclusively his. She wants
to make him jealous so he’ll demand that she see only him. AND she’s hoping to
make sure that the target no longer sleeps with his wife. Sometimes this works.
With some targets, it backfires. And when it backfires, the poacher will have
to take drastic measures, which, from this point on, rarely work.
- “Ultimatum Strategy”: A poacher decides she’s ready for her
“real life” with the target to begin; she’s done everything he’s wanted for as
long as she can. After all, maybe he’s attended her birthday party when his
wife is in the hospital; socialized with her friends or family instead of
spending time with his own; taken her on trips, paying for expensive
restaurants, hotels, and concerts.
She believes this means he’s genuinely hers. She may even
pretend that she’s already his wife. (Like ordering expensive in-room massages
or room service and signing her name with his last name - In the case of "Harlot", she made him a video messages and cake on my fiance birthday thinking she is the girlfriend). She demands (sweetly)
that he spend more leisure time with her—holidays, weekends; that he move out
from his family home so they can be happy together; that he make good on all
the “promises” she believes he’s made.
At this point the target realizes the poacher wants a
marriage. And he’s already got one. Fantasy over. The target ends the affair.
The poacher realizes her mistake. She’s come on too strong. So she backpedals…
- “Happy Place Retreat” Strategy: Once again the poacher
becomes the breezy, carefree woman she pretended to be in the beginning. She
offers a happy-place bubble where the rest of the world doesn’t have to ever
intrude. She sends him funny or sexually suggestive emails and links designed
to get him thinking about sex and fun times with her. She sends him “articles”
that she’s written specifically with him in mind about love and life and fear
of being trapped, and how happiness can only come with change—translation:
moving in with her. She texts and calls him daily, pretending he hasn’t ended
the relationship. A committed poacher is unfazed by the target’s lack of
response.
- “Poor Me” Strategy: She texts the target nonstop, pleading
with him to come to her aid in whatever emotional or physical crisis she
manufactures. She leaves piteous voice mails and sends guilt-inducing emails,
outlining how she’s fallen desperately ill, she can’t sleep, she can’t eat, and
all because she loves him and because he won’t return her missives. She sends
numerous invitations to attend a milestone birthday, a family party, or some
event she was sure he’d promised to attend while they were involved.
She cries to her friends, her parents (who are usually
divorced), and pretty much anyone who’ll listen. She’s been had. She’s a
victim. The target promised to love her, marry her, spend his life with her—and
he reneged. (Isn’t it ironic?) In desperation, the poacher escalates her
contact efforts, including hang-up phone calls to the target’s wife. She wants
the target and his wife to acknowledge that she’s the wronged party here.
- “I Want Closure” Strategy: Desperate to connect to the
target, she writes him a long and soulful letter or email (a text would be too
long). Some of the stock phrases of this strategy are: “I’ve always been kind
and there for you. How can you hurt me this way?” “How can the gentle, loving man
I know treat me this way?” “I gave you the best years of my life,” (the irony
seems lost on the poacher). “After all we’ve done together—we danced, we
laughed, and all our amazing lovemaking—how can you leave me without a word?”
She clings to the belief that he’ll walk back into her life
(cue Vicki Carr’s song, “Let It Please Be Him”). She reminds him of his
promises (most of which were probably in her head) that he would be with her
forever (sigh). She’s “waited years for her real life to begin,” and he “owes
her a final response” (Sigh again.) She also casually mentions that she’s
seeing someone new, just in case she can re-ignite his passion by creating a
jealous spark.
- “Social Media” Strategy: This lets everyone know that she’s
the wronged party in a relationship. She posts sad quotes by famous people
about the cruelty of loving and lying and betrayal. (Even Bible posts) She posts pictures of how
she’s moved on–parties, concerts, trips—where she’s draped over men she’s
having casual sex with, secretly hoping the target will catch a glimpse and
want her again.
- “Bunny-Boiler” Strategy: Named for the Glenn Close character
in Fatal Attraction, the poacher leaps from passive to crazy stalker: she
leaves dead animals on the target’s doorstep for his wife to find; calls the
target’s home nonstop, muttering threats and epithets when the wife answers.
She has her friends contact the target to get together so she can
“accidentally” show up. Not a successful strategy by any means.
So which one are you, harlot?