In a move that wipes an outdated law off the books, New York has officially said goodbye to its over-a-century-old ban on adultery. Yes, you read that right—cheating on your spouse used to be a crime in the Empire State. But as of Friday, Governor Kathy Hochul signed off on repealing this law, calling it a relic of a different time.
The law, dating all the way back to 1907, made adultery a misdemeanor, punishable by up to three months in jail. However, it was rarely enforced and had long been seen as both impractical and unnecessary.
Governor Hochul, who has been married for 40 years, acknowledged the irony of her role in scrapping the law. But she had a clear message: “Relationships can be complicated, and these matters are best left to the people involved—not the criminal justice system.” She described the statute as silly and outdated, saying it was high time it was removed.
The old law defined adultery as having sexual intercourse with someone while either person had a living spouse. It was originally introduced during a time when proving infidelity was one of the few ways to get a divorce. Back then, it wasn’t just about broken hearts—laws like these were used to make divorces harder to obtain.
State Assemblymember Charles Lavine, who sponsored the repeal, pointed out just how irrelevant the law had become. Since the 1970s, only about a dozen people were charged under the statute, with just five convictions. “This law didn’t protect anyone or prevent bad behavior—it was just sitting there, serving no purpose,” Lavine explained.
The law’s last notable appearance was in 2010, when a woman was caught in a compromising situation in a park. Although she was initially charged with adultery, the case never went to trial—it was dropped as part of a plea deal.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time New York has tried to ditch its adultery law. Back in the 1960s, there was a push to repeal it, but lawmakers decided to keep it after one politician argued that removing the law might look like the state was giving a thumbs-up to cheating.
Now, in 2024, New York has finally put this archaic rule to rest, joining the growing number of states moving away from adultery bans. While laws like these might’ve made sense in a different era, they no longer fit the times we live in today.
