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If you have searched what is considered adultery in texas, you have probably found a surprisingly confident collection of answers. Some say cheating is enough. Others draw lines around sexting, emotional affairs, dating after separation, or physical contact. And many point to the Texas Family Code as though it contains a precise definition that settles the question.
It does not. Texas Family Code § 6.003 makes adultery a ground for divorce in a single sentence, but it never defines the term. The definition comes from somewhere else entirely: Texas appellate decisions applying language with a citation trail reaching back nearly a century. That distinction matters because the legal meaning of adultery is narrower than the way people commonly use words like “cheating” or “infidelity.”
It also explains why these cases can become confusing so quickly. A spouse may discover explicit messages, hotel charges, photographs, a dating profile, or evidence of a secret relationship and reasonably believe the answer is obvious. Legally, however, there are two separate questions: does the conduct fit the judicial definition of adultery, and is there enough evidence to establish that it occurred? Something that does not itself constitute adultery may still be evidence that adultery occurred.
At the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, we believe clarity matters most when the facts are emotionally difficult. Founded by South Texas College of Law graduate Bryan Joseph Fagan, our firm helps Texas families understand not just what the law says, but where the rule comes from and what it may mean for the decisions ahead.
This guide starts with the statute, follows the definition through the Texas cases that actually supply it, and then applies that definition to the questions people encounter in real divorces—from sexting and emotional affairs to one-night stands and relationships that begin after separation. Once you separate the definition from the evidence, the answer becomes much clearer than the internet often makes it seem.
The Short Answer
Texas Family Code section 6.003 makes adultery a ground for divorce but never defines it. Texas appellate courts define adultery as voluntary sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than the spouse. The citation trail reaches back to a 1929 Texas decision, and modern appellate courts across at least five districts have continued using the formulation through 2025. Adultery may be proved by direct or circumstantial evidence, but the cases require clear and positive proof rather than mere suggestion or innuendo. The definition answers what adultery means; the evidence determines whether the facts establish it.
Key Takeaways
- The Family Code does not define adultery. The section making it a ground for divorce is one sentence long.
- Texas courts define it as voluntary sexual intercourse with someone other than the spouse — a formulation courts have repeated for decades.
- It may be shown by direct or circumstantial evidence, but the proof must be clear and positive; suggestion and innuendo are expressly insufficient.
- Conduct after you separated is not excluded. Texas courts have held adultery is not limited to what happened before the parties parted.
- Adultery is not a crime in Texas, so nothing here concerns criminal exposure.
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The Statute Says Almost Nothing
Here is the provision, in full. Not an excerpt — the whole section:
Tex. Fam. Code § 6.003
Adultery. The court may grant a divorce in favor of one spouse if the other spouse has committed adultery.
For anyone trying to understand what is considered adultery in texas, Texas Family Code § 6.003 gives a remarkably short answer. It says a court may grant a divorce in favor of one spouse if the other spouse committed adultery. What it does not give you is a definition, a checklist of qualifying conduct, or a statutory test for deciding when cheating becomes adultery.
That gap is important. The Legislature made adultery a fault ground for divorce, while Texas appellate decisions supply the legal definition courts use. The statute creates the ground; case law explains what adultery means; and the evidence determines whether the facts can establish it. Our guide to adultery laws in Texas takes a broader look at how that ground fits within Chapter 6 and what proving adultery can—and cannot—change in a divorce.
There is another word in § 6.003 worth noticing: may. The statute says a court may grant a divorce based on adultery, not that proving adultery automatically produces a particular result. That distinction becomes especially important when spouses assume an affair guarantees a larger property award, a custody advantage, or some other fixed consequence. For additional context, see our guide comparing adultery laws in Texas to other states.
Commonly Stated, and Wrong
Where a page gives you a precise definition and cites the Family Code for it, the citation does not support the definition. The section is reproduced above in full and contains none. That does not make the page’s answer wrong — the answer may be perfectly accurate. It means the authority is somewhere other than where you were told, and you cannot check it against the statute.
What Texas Courts Say It Means
This is the part the statute leaves out, and Texas appellate courts have repeatedly supplied the same formulation:
The important distinction is between the legal term and the much broader everyday idea of cheating. The appellate formulation speaks specifically in terms of sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than the spouse. That is narrower than many behaviors people may understandably describe as infidelity.
The judicial definition
Adultery means the “voluntary sexual intercourse of a married person with one not the spouse.”
Texas appellate courts have used this definition for decades. See, e.g., In re S.A.A. (Dallas 2009); Ayala (Houston [1st Dist.] 2011); Portillo (Fort Worth 2016); Fitzpatrick (Dallas 2023); In re Marriage of Grigsby (Corpus Christi–Edinburg 2025). Full citations below.
Where the Definition Came From
This is the part few pages show you, and it is the reason to check the answer rather than take it on faith. A definition the Legislature never wrote became well established through decades of appellate decisions.
Later courts cite a 1976 Houston decision, Bell v. Bell, both for the definition and for the rule that adultery is not limited to conduct before a separation. But Bell did not coin the wording either — it attributes the definition to a Texas decision from 1929. The formulation courts use today is close to a century old.
Dallas used it in 1986 and again in 2009. In 2011 two more districts applied it in the same year, Houston and El Paso. Dallas applied it again in 2013, Fort Worth in 2016, Dallas once more in 2023, and Corpus Christi–Edinburg in August 2025.
The citation line now reaches from 1929 to 2025, and modern decisions across at least five Texas appellate districts have used the same formulation, with no competing definition that we found. It is why this page describes the definition as well established rather than as one available reading among several.
Cheating and Adultery Are Not the Same Word
When people ask what is considered adultery in texas, one of the most important distinctions is between the legal meaning of adultery and the much broader idea of cheating. In everyday life, cheating can describe an emotional affair, secret messages, sexting, kissing, a dating-app relationship, or a one-night encounter. Texas appellate courts use adultery as a narrower legal term, so conduct that feels like obvious infidelity does not automatically satisfy the judicial definition.
That does not make the other conduct meaningless. Explicit messages, photographs, hotel records, dating-app conversations, or evidence of an emotional relationship may not independently establish adultery, but they can sometimes provide circumstantial evidence of conduct that does. This is why separating the conduct from the evidence used to prove it is so important when evaluating a possible fault-based divorce.
In straightforward situations, the question may simply be whether the known facts fit the legal definition. In more complex cases, suspected adultery may overlap with financial records, community property spent on another relationship, disputed evidence, or other issues that affect the larger divorce strategy. Our guide to the truth about divorce and adultery in Texas explains more about those broader consequences, while our overview of adultery laws and grounds for divorce in Texas provides additional context on where adultery fits within Texas divorce law.
The key is not to dismiss conduct simply because it falls outside the narrow definition—or assume every betrayal automatically establishes adultery. Understanding which legal question the facts actually raise gives you a clearer starting point for deciding what matters and what is worth pursuing.
How Adultery Can Be Established
Texas appellate courts also say adultery may be established through direct or circumstantial evidence, but that the cases require clear and positive proof rather than mere suggestion or innuendo. That language describes what the cases require from the evidence. It should not be confused with a separate statutory definition, and for that reason this page does not characterize it as an independently created burden of proof.
The cases also show why separation and marital status are different questions. Conduct after a separation may still qualify while the marriage legally exists. But in In re S.A.A. a relationship formed during a period when the person was not legally married could not satisfy the definition of adultery — the marriage has to exist at the time, whatever the couple’s living arrangements.
How texts, photographs, financial records, admissions and investigator testimony fit that rule is a separate question, and a larger one than this page. Start with the evidence needed to prove adultery in Texas.
Not sure whether what happened in your marriage fits this definition? A short conversation can help identify which legal question your situation raises.
Does Separation Change the Definition?
No. Texas appellate courts have held that adultery is not limited to conduct occurring before separation. The rule appears in the same line of authority that supplies the judicial definition, and later courts have repeated it. The limit noted earlier is the other side of it: the marriage still has to exist at the time.
Timing may nevertheless matter to other issues in a case, which are addressed in our guide to dating during divorce in Texas.
Where the Definition Gets Hard
Some situations make what is considered adultery in texas harder to answer because the facts may suggest cheating without independently establishing adultery. Emotional affairs, sexting, dating-app activity, kissing, hotel stays, and secret communications may all be relevant, but the legal question remains whether the evidence establishes conduct that fits the definition Texas appellate courts use.
The key is separating conduct from evidence. An explicit message or hotel receipt may not itself constitute adultery, but it could become circumstantial evidence that adultery occurred. In more complex cases, messages, financial records, photographs, admissions, travel patterns, and other facts may need to be considered together. Our guide to when cheating is considered adultery in a Texas divorce explores these boundary questions further.
The comparisons below are a starting point, not a prediction of how a court would decide a particular case. They show where common situations fall against the judicial definition while recognizing that whether adultery can actually be established depends on the complete evidence and circumstances.
| The situation | Against the definition | Read further |
|---|---|---|
| Messages, sexting, an online-only relationship | Not the conduct the definition names, though messages can still be evidence of conduct that is. | What counts as adultery, and where sexting fits |
| An emotional relationship with no sexual contact | Does not match the conduct the definition names; whether other facts change the analysis is a separate question. | The boundary cases |
| An encounter that is denied | If the alleged encounter occurred, it is the conduct the definition describes. The question then becomes whether the evidence is sufficient to establish it. | What evidence is needed to prove adultery |
| A spouse who knew and stayed | The conduct may still meet the definition, but the Code provides a defense in this situation, on conditions it sets out. | Adultery laws in Texas |
Read the Law Yourself
The statutory half takes about a minute to check, and it is worth checking:
- Family Code section 6.003 — read it and note what is not there. It is quoted in full above.
- Chapter 6, Subchapter A — all seven grounds for divorce and the defenses provision. No definitions section for adultery appears anywhere in it.
The definition itself is in the decisions. These are the ones that state it, in order:
- Bell v. Bell, 540 S.W.2d 432, 435 (Tex. Civ. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1976, no writ) — the decision later courts cite for both the definition and the post-separation rule. Bell in turn attributes the definition to Lawler v. Lawler, 15 S.W.2d 684 (Tex. Civ. App. 1929, no writ).
- Morrison v. Morrison, 713 S.W.2d 377, 380 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1986, writ ref’d n.r.e.) and In re S.A.A., 279 S.W.3d 853, 856 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2009, no pet.) — modern decisions repeating the definition and the evidentiary formulation.
- Ayala v. Ayala, 387 S.W.3d 721, 733 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2011, no pet.) and Newberry v. Newberry, 351 S.W.3d 552, 556 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2011, no pet.).
- In re Marriage of C.A.S., 405 S.W.3d 373 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2013, no pet.); Portillo v. Portillo, No. 02-14-00124-CV (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Apr. 21, 2016, no pet.) (mem. op.); and Fitzpatrick v. Fitzpatrick, No. 05-22-00001-CV (Tex. App.—Dallas May 8, 2023, no pet.) (mem. op.).
- In re Marriage of Grigsby, No. 13-24-00513-CV (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi–Edinburg Aug. 28, 2025) — the most recent, confirming this is still the definition courts use.
What I Tell People Who Ask What Adultery Means
The definition is well established. The harder question is whether the facts actually establish the conduct it describes — and whether developing that issue advances the larger case.
Complex Divorce Strategy
Case Assessment & Complex Divorce Strategy
Kimberly P. Washington
Senior Managing Attorney · Houston
Kimberly brings over a decade of family law experience and oversees complex divorce and custody cases from the Houston corporate office, while helping direct attorney strategy firm-wide. Working out whether a set of facts reaches a fault ground at all, and whether alleging it serves the client’s wider aims, is the assessment this page leads to.
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Bring what you have to a Legal Strategy Session so we can look at whether the facts reach the definition, whether it is worth alleging, and what it would take.
Kimberly works from our Houston corporate office at 3707 Cypress Creek Parkway, Suite 400 — 281-562-7344. We serve clients across Texas. More about the Houston office →
Conclusion:
Understanding what is considered adultery in texas answers an important legal question, but it does not automatically tell you whether adultery should become a major issue in your divorce. In straightforward situations, the next step may simply be evaluating the evidence and deciding whether pursuing a fault ground serves a practical purpose. Questions about knowledge, forgiveness, or continuing the marriage after discovering an affair can add another layer, which we discuss in our guide to whether consent or forgiveness can affect adultery claims in Texas.
In more complex cases, adultery may connect to much larger issues. If your case involves substantial community funds spent on another relationship, hidden assets, disputed financial records, conflicting evidence, or a high-asset marital estate, proving what happened is only part of the analysis. The more important strategic question may be whether developing the adultery claim can meaningfully affect property division, financial recovery, settlement, or another objective in the divorce.
The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC helps Texas families separate understandable emotion from the legal questions that can actually change a case. A Legal Strategy Session can help you evaluate what the evidence shows, what Texas law allows, and whether the issue is worth pursuing—giving you a clearer path forward and greater confidence in the decisions that come next.
About the Author
Founder & Managing Attorney
Bryan Fagan
Houston · Firm founded 2012
Bryan practices family law in Houston, with a focus on divorce, custody and the property questions that decide what each spouse walks away with. He writes the firm’s statewide educational material on marital property and dissolution, including this page.
Before law he built and ran a real estate and property business, which is where the financial side of these cases became familiar to him. Asset management, contract negotiation and reading a balance sheet are not skills most family lawyers arrive with, and they matter in almost any divorce that involves property. He is also the author of several family law guides written for clients rather than lawyers, including The Texas Divorce Handbook.
Juris Doctor, South Texas College of Law · Bachelor’s, University of Phoenix · Licensed by the State Bar of Texas
Questions People Ask
The Family Code does not define it, but Texas appellate courts do, and consistently: voluntary sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than the spouse. The citation trail reaches back to a 1929 Texas decision, and modern appellate courts across at least five districts have continued using the formulation through 2025.
From appellate decisions. Section 6.003 makes adultery a ground for divorce in one sentence and never explains the term, so the meaning has been worked out in cases rather than announced in the Code. The decisions are listed above and you can read them.
It may be shown by direct or circumstantial evidence, but the cases say the proof must be clear and positive and that mere suggestion and innuendo are insufficient. Whether a given set of facts amounts to clear and positive proof is the question worth putting to an attorney.
Texas courts have held that adultery is not limited to conduct before the parties separated, so moving out does not close the window. What does matter is that the marriage still legally existed at the time — conduct occurring during a period when the person was not legally married could not satisfy the adultery ground. Timing can still matter to other parts of a case, which our page on dating during divorce in Texas takes up.
Those sit right at the edge of the definition and are a subject of their own. Our page on what counts as adultery and where sexting fits takes them one at a time.
No. Texas does not make adultery a criminal offense, so nothing on this page concerns criminal exposure. Our page on whether adultery is a crime in Texas covers the history and how service members are treated differently.
