Real And Fictional Side Chicks Who Get A Pass

In fiction, and in real life, cheating is wrong — except for when we decide it really isn’t. From Olivia Pope to Angelina Jolie, when some chicks become the other woman, we have a hard time being mad. These are the mistresses who’ve gotten a pass.

Angelina Jolie

When Brad and Angelina got together, we were kind of like “maybe these two ridiculously good-looking people just belong together and Jennifer’s better off looking for a man that’s more her speed”.

Olivia Pope

Olivia wears the white hat and looks fabulous in a pants suit so she can do whatever she wants with Fitz and we’ll still be on her team.

Marilyn Monroe

Who’s as glamorous as Marilyn Monroe? Nobody. And when you’re the most fabulous woman in American history, a little husband stealing (even of the presidential variety) is just one of those anecdotes that makes your biography that much more colorful.

Gisele Bundchen

When one of the world’s most famous supermodels stole Tom Brady from his pregnant girlfriend, no one really took Bridget Moynahan’s side. We were all like “it sucks that the world’s most beautiful woman wanted your boyfriend, but there’s just not really anything you can do about a situation like that.”

Carrie Mathison

We kind of looked at this as Mrs. Brody’s fault. She hooked up with Nicholas Brody’s best friend while he was off getting tortured in some prison camp. And when he came back different, Carrie was the only one who could really understand his struggle. Those two sort of fit together so they both got a pass.

Carrie Bradshaw

We’re starting to think that anything is permissible as long as you dress well while doing it. Carrie and Big are part of one of TV land’s favorite love stories — even though Carrie stole Mr. Big from Natasha and ruined her marriage.

Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor stole two of her eight husbands. But all of her romances and marriages were just part of the many reasons why the world loved her.

The Many Side Chicks of Don Draper

We all hated Betty Draper, so Don Draper’s side chicks got a collective pass. Don was sleeping with half of Manhattan, but Betty was a childish ice queen who didn’t have it in her to understand her husband.

Joan Harris

Don wasn’t the only one sleeping around. We all rooted for Joan Harris and Roger Sterling to get together — through both of his marriages, one of hers and the birth of their son.

Lil’ Kim

We loved Lil’ Kim because she was scandalous, so when we found out about Biggie’s affair, it was just another reason to be a fan of the Queen Bee.

Lauryn Hill

As it turns out, the sin that did Jezebel in was mental instability and low record sales. When Ms. Hill was on top, we could care less that she slept with Wyclef.

Barbara Walters

Barbara got so much of a pass on her affair that everyone pretended they didn’t hear her when she revealed her affair with Senator Edward Brooke. An affair with a black man in the 70s sure sounded like a scandal to us, but the media just shrugged their shoulders and went on with their lives.

Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz are a hip-hop power couple. And when we’re nodding our heads to their beats, we like to forget that Alicia stole Swizz from Mashonda despite her public plea for Alicia to leave her man alone.