“Basically, it’s a pain in the ass to tell the whole truth. So sometimes we just leave details out because it gets too complicated,” says Dan. “If the missing info isn’t going to hurt anyone, what’s the harm in not mentioning it?”

Why Men Lie: He’s trying to put his best foot forward.
Marshall, 24, was working as an assistant at a small production office when the company went bankrupt and he was forced to go on unemployment. He started searching for something new, but he wasn’t having much luck.

A few weeks later, Marshall met Sharon, a 26-year-old accountant, at a bar. There was no way this successful woman would give his unemployed self a second glance if she knew the truth, so Marshall told her he didn’t want to talk about work because it was too stressful. The reasoning behind it?

“We’re trying to impress you, so we make things up and leave things out,” says Marshall. “No guy completely tells the truth, but it’s because of you that we do it.”

And it’s not like Sharon wouldn’t find out the truth eventually. Why disappoint her now?

Why Men Lie: He’s trying to get you into bed.
When Sarah met James on an airplane she couldn’t believe her luck. This gorgeous man who had sat next to her seemed to be everything she had been looking for in a guy—and he was pursuing her. They started an intense affair, but it wasn’t long until her world was shattered with those four dreaded words: “We need to talk.” Turns out James was in a five year relationship with no intention of abandoning his current girlfriend, yet he felt no need to give up Sarah either—just to give her fair warning. Sarah didn’t need the drama, but she did need an explanation.