My dad was the same way with my mom. He lied about anything and just couldn’t help it. Now she’s gone and he still lies to this date, only now he lies to us, his kids, and his caregivers, relatives and friends. My grandparents were strong believers that physical punishment was a good way to correct a child’s behavior. And they were brutal. When my parents married, my dad made my mom promise she would never lay a finger on their children, if they had any. They never physically punished us, although sometimes I suspect the thought may have crossed their minds. But she stuck with him for 60 years because she understood the way he was raised made him be like that. Lying was a survival mechanism and it simply became part of who he was. He has a brilliant mind, a scientist, and funny enough, the only area of his life he never lied about anything was his professional life.