There’s no doubt that getting cheated on can be a truly soul shattering experience, but research has found that there are long term benefits for girls who’ve been through it.
A survey of 5,705 people from 96 countries revealed that after six months to a year, gals who go through a break up as a result of infidelity developed higher self-confidence and higher emotional intelligence.
“The woman who ‘loses’ her mate to another woman will go through a period of post-relationship grief and betrayal, but come out of the experience with higher mating intelligence that allows her to better detect cues in future mates that may indicate low mate value,” co-author Dr Craig Morris wrote.
“Hence, in the long-term, she ‘wins.’”
So while it might feel awful at the time, he says that being cheated on will eventually result in “more self-confidence and more self-awareness, and independence in general” and you’re likely to pick a better mate in the future.
It might also help to know that on the flip side, the research suggests that the “other woman” is worse off and will not have a successful long-term relationship in most cases.
This article originally appeared on Women’s Health.