There are many reasons why people will have a one night stand (whether its just once or habitually): Its a way to connect with another person at a time where it may be too painful and risky to emotionally connect.

Does a one night stand count?

Its not. The Deseret News, the respected Salt Lake City daily newspaper, recently published results of a survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted in March 2017 that found 27% of respondents like John do not believe one-night stands should automatically be counted as cheating.