Part 2
Because if Josh can pass a lie detector test, what else can he do? He can look Tara in the eye and tell her he loves her. He can hold their son and promise to be a good father. He can plan a wedding and pretend to be excited. He can do all of that while cheating. While lying. While betraying her. And she'll never know. That's the real horror of this story. Not the cheating. The lying. The ability to look someone in the eye and lie. The ability to pass a lie detector test. The ability to make someone think they're crazy. That's what Josh is doing to Tara. He's making her think she's paranoid. He's making her think she's crazy. He's making her think she's the problem.
But she's not. She's the victim. She's the one who's been betrayed. She's the one who's been lied to. She's the one who's been made to feel like she's losing her mind. And that's why she's on The Maury Show. She wants answers. She wants the truth. She wants to know if Josh is cheating. But the lie detector can't give her that. It can only tell her if Josh is stressed. And Josh isn't stressed. He's calm. He's confident. He's charming. He's a professional liar. And he's passing the test.
So what do we do with this? How do we answer the question: Can a cheater change? The answer is: yes, but only if they want to. Only if they're willing to do the work. Only if they're willing to be honest. Josh isn't there yet. He's still lying. He's still making excuses. He's still blaming Tara. He's still passing the lie detector. And that's the problem. Because passing a lie detector test doesn't prove you've changed. It just proves you're good at lying. And that's a lesson we should all take to heart.
In the next section, we'll dig into the psychology of a cheater. Why does Josh have emotional affairs? What does he get out of it? And why does he keep doing it? We'll explore the science of infidelity, the role of narcissism, and the difference between a mistake and a pattern. Because understanding Josh is the first step to understanding why Tara should—or shouldn't—stay. And that's a question that no lie detector can answer.
The Psychology of a Cheater: Why Josh's 'Emotional Affairs' Matter
You have probably seen the trailer. The lie detector. The crying. The audience chanting. But the real question isn't whether Josh passes or fails. It's whether a cheater can ever truly change. On The Maury Show, Tara's fiancé Josh admits to emotional affairs and kissing a coworker. But he blames Tara for making him feel bad. That's the oldest trick in the book. And it's a masterclass in manipulation.
Let's break down Josh's behavior. He says he had emotional affairs because Tara made him feel a certain way. He says she depressed him. He says she frustrated him. So he sought comfort in other women. That's not an explanation. That's a deflection. Psychologists call it blame-shifting. It's a way to avoid responsibility. Instead of owning his actions, he points the finger at Tara. And that's a red flag the size of a stadium.
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Esther Perel, the renowned relationship therapist and author of The State of Affairs (2017), has spent decades studying infidelity. She argues that affairs are rarely just about sex. They're about longing, about feeling alive, about reclaiming a lost part of oneself. But here's the thing: that doesn't excuse the betrayal. Perel says that emotional affairs can be just as devastating as physical ones. Maybe more. Because they involve intimacy, secrets, and a shared emotional world that excludes the partner. Josh had three emotional affairs. He kissed one woman. He bought another peanut M&Ms with Tara's Target gift card. That's not just a slip-up. That's a pattern.
And what about Lacy? Josh says she's just a friend. But Tara isn't buying it. Lacy has a boyfriend, Justin, who trusts Josh. But Tara sees what Justin doesn't. She sees the late nights, the hanging out, the singing. Josh thinks he's Luther Vandross. He sings to women at work. He sang to Tara once. Now he's singing to someone 12 years younger. That's not friendship. That's grooming. And it's a classic move from the cheater's playbook.
This kind of psychological manipulation is all over cinema. Take The Invisible Man (2020), directed by Leigh Whannell. Elisabeth Moss plays Cecilia, a woman trapped by an abusive boyfriend who gaslights her into thinking she's crazy. Josh does the same thing to Tara. He calls her paranoid. He says she's overreacting. He makes her doubt her own reality. That's gaslighting. And it's a form of emotional abuse.
Then there's Gone Girl (2014), directed by David Fincher. Rosamund Pike's Amy Dunne is a master manipulator. She frames her husband for murder. She controls the narrative. Josh isn't that extreme, but he's playing the same game. He twists the story. He makes Tara look like the bad guy. He charms Maury, the audience, even Lacy. But Tara sees through it. She knows he's a professional liar.
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And let's not forget the TV series You (2018–present), based on Caroline Kepnes' novels. Penn Badgley plays Joe Goldberg, a charming stalker who justifies his obsessive behavior as love. Josh isn't a killer, but he has the same self-serving logic. He thinks his emotional affairs are justified because Tara made him feel bad. That's not love. That's entitlement.
