Divorce Due to Infidelity (Adultery)

February 21, 2026

What Is Divorce Due to Infidelity (Adultery)?

Divorce due to infidelity (adultery) is regulated as stipulated in Article 161 of the Turkish Civil Code:
“If one of the spouses commits adultery, the other spouse may file for divorce. The right to file a lawsuit expires six months from the date the entitled spouse becomes aware of the reason for divorce, and in any case, five years after the act of adultery. The spouse who forgives does not have the right to file a lawsuit.”

As understood from the legal provision, the act of adultery by one spouse during the marriage constitutes an absolute special reason for divorce. Additionally, if the wronged spouse forgives the adultery, this is considered to prevent the act from being cited as a reason for divorce.

Conditions for Filing a Divorce Due to Infidelity (Adultery)

A divorce case due to infidelity (adultery) can be filed subject to certain conditions set by the legislator, which are:

  1. The act of adultery occurring during the marital union,
  2. One of the spouses engaging in a sexual relationship with a third party,
  3. The wronged spouse not forgiving the cheating spouse,
  4. The divorce case based on adultery being filed within six months from the date the adultery was discovered.

Evidence and Proof in Divorce Cases Due to Infidelity (Adultery)

A divorce case due to infidelity (adultery), by its nature, is based on a specific reason, making its proof extremely important for the party making the claim. Accordingly, some examples of evidence that can be used as proof are listed below:

  • Photographs or video recordings,
  • Bank records and credit card statements,
  • Telephone call records,
  • SMS and WhatsApp message records,
  • Social media content,
  • Hotel or flight records,
  • Statements regarding acts of adultery included in an investigation file initiated by the prosecutor for another reason…


In addition to the examples given above, it is accepted, in light of Supreme Court decisions, that various circumstances may also indicate adultery. These include: one spouse staying together in a hotel room with a person of the opposite sex, one spouse having a child with another person outside the marriage, and one spouse bringing a person of the opposite sex into the shared residence while alone.

Time Limit for Filing a Divorce Due to Infidelity (Adultery)

According to Article 161/2 of the Turkish Civil Code (TCC), if one spouse commits adultery, the wronged spouse has the right to file a divorce case within six months from the date they become aware of the act of adultery. However, if the reason for divorce is discovered at a later date, the right to file a lawsuit expires in any case five years after the date the act of adultery occurred.

Competent and Jurisdictional Court in Divorce Cases Due to Infidelity (Adultery)

In divorce cases due to infidelity (adultery), the competent court is the court of the residence of one of the spouses or the court of the place where they last lived together for at least six months prior to the lawsuit (TCC Article 168), while the court with jurisdiction over the case is the family court. In this context, the parties may need a divorce lawyer, such as a divorce attorney in Antalya, to file and follow up on the case.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How Long Does a Divorce Case Due to Adultery Take?

A divorce case due to adultery typically lasts approximately one year in cases where the adultery is definitively proven. For this, the wronged spouse must prove that the acts considered as adultery occurred or were attempted.

2. Who Is Granted Custody in a Divorce Case Due to Adultery?

The right of custody, as regulated in Article 339 of the Turkish Civil Code (TCC), is granted to the mother, father, or both (joint custody) for the upbringing, personal development, and protection of the interests of the underage joint child. Under the custody right, the care, safety, education, and training of the child are the responsibility of the relevant parent. In this context, the court may consider the act of adultery disadvantageous and evaluate whether there is an environment that could negatively affect the development of the joint child. However, it should be noted that one spouse being at fault in a divorce case due to adultery does not automatically result in the loss of custody rights.

3. Can a Confidentiality Order Be Issued in a Divorce Case Due to Adultery?

Issuing a confidentiality order in a divorce case due to infidelity (adultery) is an important matter to ensure the privacy of the parties’ personal life, protect their personal rights, and conduct the case properly. Accordingly, the relevant court may decide to hold the hearings in private either on its own initiative or upon the request of the parties (TCC Article 184/6).

4. Can the Wronged Spouse File a Moral Compensation Lawsuit Against a Third Party?

Although the wronged spouse can file a moral compensation lawsuit against the cheating spouse, they do not have this right against a third party. As accepted in Supreme Court precedents, the wronged spouse does not have the right to file a moral compensation lawsuit against a third party (Supreme Court of Appeals, Grand General Assembly for the Unification of Judgments, dated 06.07.2018, Case No. 2017/5, Decision No. 2018/7).

5. Is It Possible to Reduce the Cheating Spouse’s Share in the Marital Property?

According to Article 236 of the Turkish Civil Code (TCC), the share of the at-fault (cheating) spouse in the marital property, in other words their portion of the remaining value, can be reduced by the court and may even be completely eliminated.

Some Supreme Court Decisions Regarding Divorce Due to Infidelity (Adultery)

  1. Although the court ruled to dismiss the divorce case filed by the plaintiff-defendant husband on the legal grounds of adultery (TCC Article 161), on the basis that the adultery of the defendant-plaintiff wife could not be proven, the investigation and collected evidence indicate the following: on 05.12.2010, the defendant-plaintiff wife brought a man into the shared residence and was caught in the house with him at 10:00 PM the same night; the man was found hiding in the bathroom. It was also established that the wife had met with this man numerous times on different dates prior to this incident. In his statement to the authorities on 05.12.2010, this man declared that he had considered marrying the defendant-plaintiff wife, had previously visited her home once, had engaged in intimate acts, but did not have sexual intercourse. The fact that the wife allowed another man into the shared residence alone at night indicates the existence of adultery. Therefore, adultery has been proven. While the court should have ruled for divorce of the parties on the grounds of adultery (TCC Article 161), dismissing the divorce case of the plaintiff-defendant husband on the legal grounds of adultery based on the written reasoning was incorrect and required annulment. (Supreme Court of Appeals, 2nd Civil Chamber, dated 02.11.2015, Case No. 2015/21517, Decision No. 2015/20095)
  2. Based on the investigation and collected evidence, it is understood that, in response to the plaintiff husband’s identified faulty behavior, the defendant wife made statements claiming that her spouse was homosexual, and the conditions of Article 166/2 of the Turkish Civil Code were met in the case. In this situation, there is a level of incompatibility between the parties that fundamentally undermines the shared life and makes it impossible for the marital union to continue. Given the course of events, the plaintiff was justified in filing the lawsuit. Under these circumstances, since it is no longer legally feasible to force the spouses to live together, dismissing the case with insufficient reasoning instead of ruling for divorce (TCC Article 166/2) was incorrect. (Supreme Court of Appeals, 2nd Civil Chamber, dated 10.03.2015, Case No. 2014/12052, Decision No. 2015/4021)
  3. “2-Although the court ruled for the acceptance of the case and the divorce of the parties, recognizing that the defendant, aware of the divorce decision, could not be considered disloyal for trying to start a new life without waiting for the decision to become final, taking into account his socio-cultural situation, the collected evidence shows that the defendant husband began living with another woman after the date of renunciation and acted unfaithfully. In this situation, the defendant husband is fully at fault for the events leading to the divorce. The fault also constitutes an infringement on the wife’s personal rights. The conditions of Articles 174/1-2 of the Turkish Civil Code, in favor of the wife, are met. Therefore, in accordance with Articles 174/1-2 of the Turkish Civil Code, considering the parties’ economic and social circumstances, the severity of the fault, and the principle of equity (TCC Article 4, TCC Articles 50 and 52), an appropriate amount of material and moral compensation should be awarded in favor of the plaintiff wife. Dismissing the claim with the written reasoning was incorrect and required annulment. (Supreme Court of Appeals, 2nd Civil Chamber, dated 05.06.2017, Case No. 2016/1993, Decision No. 2017/6785)
  4. The plaintiff wife initially filed for divorce based on the grounds of adultery (TCC Article 161); however, in the event that adultery was not accepted, she alternatively based her request on the breakdown of the marital union (TCC Article 166/1). The court rejected the wife’s divorce claim based on the legal grounds of adultery but accepted her case under Article 166/1 of the Turkish Civil Code and granted the divorce. The judgment was appealed by the plaintiff wife regarding the non-acceptance of adultery as the legal ground, the determination of fault, and the amount of compensation. By the Supreme Court of Appeals’ reversal decision (Case No. 2016/14658, Decision No. 2018/1859), it was stated: “From the trial and the collected evidence, as the court also acknowledged, the defendant husband had a relationship with a foreign woman during the continuation of the marriage and acted unfaithfully toward his spouse; however, there is no conclusive evidence that the adultery continued at the time of the case. Therefore, it was considered that the wife could not prove adultery. Nevertheless, taking into account the statements of the joint child Altay as a witness, and the statements of other witnesses, as well as the photographs submitted by the plaintiff, it is understood that the defendant husband continued living with another woman up to the date the lawsuit was filed. In this case, it must be accepted that the plaintiff wife proved her divorce claim based on adultery. Therefore, the dismissal of the plaintiff wife’s divorce claim based on adultery (TCC Article 161) due to insufficient reasoning was incorrect.” Accordingly, the case was overturned, and based on the reason for the reversal, it became necessary to re-establish the judgment regarding the determination of fault and related claims in the wife’s divorce case. For now, appeals regarding the fault assigned to the wife by the court and the amount of compensation have not been reviewed. (Supreme Court of Appeals, Civil Chamber, dated 28.01.2020, Case No. 2019/6633, Decision No. 2020/443)
  5. At the first-instance court, it was stated that the woman was fully at fault, and the divorce case filed by the plaintiff-defendant husband on the legal grounds of adultery (TCC Article 161) was accepted. However, the joined divorce case filed by the defendant-plaintiff wife on the legal grounds of the breakdown of the marital union (TCC Article 166/1) was dismissed. The reasoning for dismissing the joined case was explained as follows: “Some of the incidents relied upon in the joined case do not constitute events suitable for a breakdown of the marital union as stated in Article 166/1 of the TCC. Some of the statements of the joined plaintiff’s witnesses were second-hand, lacked a time and place relationship, and consisted of unconvincing explanations without clarification of reasons or motives. Therefore, the joined case was dismissed.” However, in her petitions, the defendant-plaintiff wife relied on the fact that the plaintiff-defendant husband had communicated by phone with other women, yet no examination was conducted on the phone number records of the husband submitted to the court. In this case, the phone records provided on CD should have been examined by an expert, communicated to the parties, and if there were numbers with which he frequently communicated, an investigation should have been conducted to determine to whom these numbers belonged. A decision should have been made based on the results of this examination together with the other evidence. Dismissing the joined case without this complete examination was incorrect and required annulment. (Supreme Court of Appeals, 2nd Civil Chamber, dated 14.06.2022, Case No. 2022/4324, Decision No. 2022/5824)