Is It Against The Law To Cheat On Your Spouse In New Mexico?

You may want to read this before stepping out on your significant other. Or just don't do that for moral reasons. In the United States, there are still quite a few states with some sort of law that makes cheating while married a crime and New Mexico has its own version.

In the Land of Enchantment, there's something called "alienation of affection" which allows a spouse to sue someone who could have played a part in ending their marriage, per KOAT News. There are only seven states that still recognize the law, which has been around since the 17th century. Those states are Illinois, Hawaii, Mississippi, South Dakota, North Carolina, Utah, and New Mexico.

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According to the Washing Post, these ideas about liability and wrongdoing in a marriage have been around since 17^th century England. In the beginning, the law was based off the idea that a man "owned" his wife's love and affection and if another man came and took that away from the husband he could be held legally responsible. "Alienation of affection" is used in modern times to look at the benefits of marriage like love, companionship, and more.

In case you're worried don't worry, you're not going to be thrown in jail for cheating on your spouse, or for sleeping with someone who is married. But you can be sued and it's happened before.

Back in 2018, Keith King was awarded $8.8 million dollars after he successfully sued a man for breaking up his marriage. Similar cases were won by different women in 2011 and 2010, per the Washington Post.

So if you're in a marriage or start developing feelings for a married person, you may want to think twice before jumping between the sheets if you live in New Mexico.