1. “I pretend to kind of like sports. It’s either this or he feels guilty about wanting to watch football and walks on eggshells around me and asks permission, etc, etc, etc, all of which he would do because he’s a considerate person and doesn’t want me to feel like he’s ignoring me. So, I lie and say I like sports.”
—Sally, 26
2. “That she absolutely looks like she’s lost weight. She knows what she weighs. No point in me being honest when all it will do is make her feel bad or start a fight.”
—Bill, 23
3. “I tell her that things start a half hour before they actually start because if I’m honest with her then we’ll always be pressed for time or be late. This way I’m calm, she’s calm, and we have a nice evening out.”
—Alex, 28
4. “I don’t have an orgasm every time my boyfriend and I have sex but I almost always tell him I did. In my defense, he used to get really anxious back when I told him the truth and there was no reason to since he’s actually a wonderful lover. This way we both win.”
—Janice, 24
5. “No matter what he’s doing, if he spent a lot of time working on it then I compliment him whether it’s some project around the house or surprising me with a gift I don’t even like. Effort should always be complimented whether I like the outcome or not because if you stop complimenting effort then people will quit putting it in.”
—Jennifer, 30
6. “When she asks me what I’m thinking about after sex I say ‘how much I love you.’ I’m actually thinking about work most of the time or what time the game is coming on but nobody wants to hear that.”
—Greg, 27
7. “That I have to get off the phone and go do something. I almost never do but I hate talking on the phone about nothing and I’m willing to lie to avoid it.”
—Alicia, 22
8. “I got married when I was eighteen and was married for three months before I’d realized what a horrible stupid mistake it was. I got the marriage annulled because he’d been cheating on since before we were married. I didn’t get married again until I was 27 and I just honestly didn’t feel like my first marriage was a real marriage anyway so I didn’t tell my husband. I don’t think he’d care but the feeling of a fresh start together in his eyes was important to me.”
—Opal, 27
9. “I do ‘lie’ to my husband about money but it’s not the way you think. We’re almost always on a pretty tight budget so every chance I get I take money and put it in a separate savings account. If I get back seven dollars in change at the grocery store then that goes into the savings account. Every little bit.”
—Jane, 25
10. “Once every month or so I take a day or two off from work and just go do what I want to do for those days. I’m able to do this because I work about an half hour over every day and get comp time to use however. I don’t tell my wife I’m doing this. I get up at the same time I normally would and dress the same way but I never go into work. I’m not doing anything fishy and I’m not trying to ‘get away from my wife.’ Mostly I just go to museums or a matinee. I just like to do things by myself sometimes and recharge.”
—Eric, 31
11. “That I miss him when he’s out of town for a couple of days. It’s just two days and he’s coming right back. I find it hard to really miss anyone if I don’t see them for just a couple of days. But I tell him I really missed him anyway even though I barely notice.”
—Michelle, 23
12. “‘You look great in that dress.’ I say this every time we’re running late. It never helps.”
—Marc, 27
13. “I feel a little bit guilty about this. Photography is a hobby of mine and equipment that’s decent isn’t cheap. I almost always tell my husband that I paid about half of what I really paid for anything over $100. He’s super frugal and this is the one thing I spend money on so I figure what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
—Ashley, 28
14. “That I love him…just kidding. I do tell him that I don’t even notice that he’s going gray and he’s going very gray even though he’s only 25. I absolutely do notice but I also don’t care. He’s the one that cares. And I do love him.”
—Kelly, 24 
