Bewitched : Episodes involving infidelity…

There were a few episodes especially in the first 5 seasons where either Darrin or Samantha were subjects of possible infidelity or where someone was pawing at either of them.

A couple of episodes showed Samantha getting hit on, especially in front of her husband, which I found strangely odd, and a few episodes where Darrin was the subject just to get an Advertising deal, again, one or 2 episodes where the woman is flirting with Darrin right in front of Samantha.

Was this normal in the 60s/70s because coming on to another person's spouse screams a punch in the face that wouldn't be dared accomplished now.

If you watch old movies (and old TV shows), yes, men often got involved
in fisticuffs. But in '64, Mr. Barker (Jack Warden) could've had
Darrin arrested for assault if he truly wanted to. He didn't, of course,
because it wasn't in his best interest. For my money, Barker deserved it.
Talk about sexual harassment!

Hillary and Bill Clinton aside, infidelity has the potential to ruin lives and relationships. But every day writers of sitcoms and feature films seem to use this device as a cheap and quick way to come up with their storylines.

For me the best infidelity story lines are the ones that turn out to be all imagined for one reason or another. And from nearly four seasons of Bewitched I've watched so far, if my memory serves me correctly, that's all they turned out to be. Again, another reason to enjoy this show.

Most sitcoms I've seen feature stories where the infidelity is imagined, not
just BW. Cheating remains an ugly thing. Of course it can be effectively
used in dramas. "The Bridges of Madison County", where Meryl Streep is the
Italian housewife who reluctantly drifts into a weekend affair with photographer
Clint Eastwood is a very haunting film.

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Most sitcoms I've seen feature stories where the infidelity is imagined

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You might be right. I confess I don't watch that many sitcoms.

I guess I was referring to the millions of storylines where the story begins with the infidelity itself. The writer uses this device as the 'inciting incident' for the whole episode, TV series or feature film. And they do it by simply showing a cheating partner (often a male) in a compromising position when the other partner (often a female) walks in on them.

The next scene is either (1) her packing her bags and getting the hell out of there or (2) throwing his belongings onto the footpath to say he's not welcome in her 'house' anymore.

The next scene after this is where the partner who's been betrayed has totally forgotten the infidelity and gets on with finding a new partner. Usually they meet their new/next partner in this scene.

Maybe the relationships in the above scenarios probably weren't good nor loving to start out with. That those relationships should have never, ever occurred in the first place. So why count or show them at all?

For me, the best storyline with infidelity as a theme would have to be INDECENT PROPOSAL with Demi Moore and Robert Redford. It really showed the devastation/confusion/hurt it can cause to a loving relationship.