The Top 10 lies happy husbands tell

3. 'I was not looking at her breasts.'
Why he tells it: to achieve a delicate balance between marital harmony and four million years of biological conditioning

No matter how long you've been together, I guarantee your man hasn't stopped being attracted to other women. You can't promise to stop liking chocolate - only to stop eating it. When a good-looking woman walks by, he notices. If her skirt is momentarily caught in a crosswind, even a legally blind man will get whiplash.

Men are responding to millions of years of biological conditioning. Why bother lying? Because it's obvious our looking bothers you. 'This is what I call a "blessed lie",' says Kovacs. 'Men are given more licence to acknowledge a wandering eye, but at the same time, we always have to treat our woman as if she's the only thing in our field of vision.'

I once dated a woman who discreetly pointed out the awesome cleavage of a girl standing next to us. I was thrilled, and not just by the view. With that one self-confident gesture, my date relieved my subconscious worry of being caught checking out other girls. She's now my wife. (OK, she did a lot of other cool stuff, too.)