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Forbidden Love: A Collection of Classic Western Songs About Infidelity [2025]
Western songs about infidelity that distill uncontrollable emotions and aching melancholy.
The masterpieces that deftly portray the desire and guilt hidden in forbidden love—and the deep regret that follows—shake our hearts like a life drama in itself.
A secret romance you can tell no one about, the bittersweet ache of drowning in an illicit relationship, and the deep scars that remain in the end.
This time, we’ve selected classic Western tracks on the theme of adultery from a wide range of genres.
Along with the meanings of the lyrics and the feelings embedded in the music, we’ll introduce a collection of songs that resonate with the heart.
Forbidden love. A roundup of classic Western songs about adultery [2025] (1–10)
Secret Love SongLittle Mix ft. Jason Derulo
Two people, each already with a partner, fall into a forbidden love.
From both the woman’s and the man’s perspectives, the song expresses their intense longing for each other.
Little Mix and Jason Derulo’s harmonies are perfectly in sync, and the music video—set against London’s breathtaking night skyline—is absolutely irresistible.
I’m a RuinMARINA
I’m a Ruin is a 2015 work by Marina and the Diamonds, a singer-songwriter from Wales.
At first glance, her beautiful, dreamlike vocals have a soothing, healing quality, and the pulsing beat that weaves through is pleasant, making it sound like feel-good music.
However, the real allure of this track lies in its lyrics.
They’re strikingly sharp, revealing emotions sung straight from the heart.
Please give a listen to Marina’s literary love song.
Cry Me A RiverJustin Timberlake
A track included on American artist Justin Timberlake’s solo debut album, Justified.
Released in November 2002, the song centers on a man’s cold resolve after discovering his lover’s betrayal.
In contrast to its solemn sound reminiscent of Gregorian chant, the lyrics portray an icy thirst for revenge.
Said to be based on the songwriter’s real experience, the words vividly capture the pain of love turning into hatred, earning the song a Grammy Award in 2004.
The stance of declaring “It’s too late” embodies condensed, profound despair.
It’s a song that makes you keenly feel the outcome of a forbidden love and the unhealed wounds of the betrayed—its cruelty laid bare.
Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)Taylor Swift
This piece sings of an indelible pain born from a forbidden romance that lasted a mere two weeks.
Featuring a collaboration between American artist Taylor Swift and Post Malone, it is included on the album The Tortured Poets Department, released in April 2024.
The protagonist, despite being married, finds her heart thrown into turmoil by a former lover who lives next door, and she is consumed with fierce jealousy toward his wife.
The contradictory feeling of loving someone while that love destroys your life resonates poignantly over an ’80s-style synth sound.
Imagining the fate that awaits such an illicit relationship is enough to make your chest ache.
You Know I’m No GoodAmy Winehouse
Knowing she’s a flawed woman, she still betrays her faithful partner.
Sung by England’s Amy Winehouse, it’s a story of a self-destructive love.
Featured on the landmark album Back to Black, the song vividly portrays, in her deep, soulful voice, the turmoil of a woman who keeps repeating her mistakes over a retro soul sound.
Even with a good person by her side, she can’t resist a dangerous allure—perhaps one of love’s bewitching facets.
The legendary performance when she won five Grammys in February 2008 also speaks to the song’s appeal.
It’s a track that tightens the chest with the weight of a love you can’t stop, even when you know it will hurt you.
If Loving You Is Wrong, I Don’t Want to Be RightLuther Ingram
Sung by American soul singer Luther Ingram, this ballad straightforwardly portrays the turmoil of a man tormented by forbidden love.
Released in April 1972, it became a massive hit, spending four consecutive weeks at No.
1 on Billboard’s R&B chart.
The protagonist defiantly declares that if loving is wrong, he doesn’t need to be right.
His heartbreaking resolve comes through with piercing clarity in a gospel-rooted, soul-stirring vocal performance.
Love’s depth can be such that, even knowing someone will get hurt, you still can’t stop.
Millie Jackson’s cover version was used in the film Cleopatra Jones.
When you’re struggling with a love that can’t be neatly justified by what’s “right,” this song may seep deep into your heart.
StaySugarland
A ballad by the American country duo Sugarland, where Jennifer Nettles’s powerful yet fragile vocals strike a deep chord.
The song is told from the perspective of the so-called “other woman.” At first, she pleads for the man to stay by her side, but then she stops clinging to unkept promises and ultimately resolves to reclaim her dignity—a delicate portrayal of an inner transformation.
Featured on the album Enjoy the Ride, this track achieved the remarkable feat of winning two Grammys in 2008.
For anyone tormented by a forbidden relationship and on the verge of losing sight of their own worth, it’s a song that prompts reflection on what true happiness really is.