The new findings delve deep into the nitty-gritty of cheating — from why people do it, to who are the most likely culprits.
Regardless of marital status, age, and geographic location, there’s a myriad of reasons why some people cheat.
According to Ashley Madison, the dating site for married people, the number one reason why people stray however is because they’re unfulfilled sexually.
Of the people surveyed by the site, 70 percent gave this as their reason for stepping out.
Then there were 26 percent who were also on the hunt for casual hook-ups, while 15 percent were in open relationships.
As well as feeling unfulfilled sexually, some 23 percent of respondents said their partners weren’t fulfilling their emotional needs, which reflects the 64 percent of people who said their bedroom fantasies centered around intimacy, romance, passion, and emotional connection.
So, when these philanderers – minus the 15 percent who were in open relationships – are doing the dirty on their partners, what’s their excuse?
“Most Australians use the old excuse of working late,” the site told Body+Soul. “Most Australians” equates to 33 percent.
Another 28 percent claim they’re catching up with friends or family, while 23 percent tell their partners they’re at work drinks.
“Business trips” were also commonly used at 18 percent, and social activities or “me time” were also popular with 16 percent of respondents.
Then there are the ones who like a quickie.
Around 10 percent of people say they’re hitting the gym, going for a run, or shopping when in actual fact they’re cheating on their loved one.
While this survey is specific to Australians, to put it into perspective, Ashley Madison has more than 80 million members globally – that’s a lot of cheaters.
What it found was that 45 percent of its Aussie subscribers have been in their current relationship for 20 years or more, and for 46 percent of those surveyed, the affairs last for one month or more.
What’s most surprising is that 39 percent actually described their primary relationships as “happy.”
The same percentage of cheaters were the oldest child, and zodiac signs didn’t mean much overall.
But there was a common theme with careers.
Of those surveyed, certain professions popped up more than others.
These new findings follow an earlier survey by Ashley Madison which lifted the lid on regret and guilt.
What it found was that TV shows like to play out the regret and guilt of their characters, a la Carrie cheating on Aiden in Sex And The City – but in reality, its site’s users show little to no remorse.
“[While] in popular media, television shows and movies and books, people who have affairs have this intense moral guilt and we don’t see that in this sample of participants,” says lead author Dylan Selterman, an associate teaching professor in Johns Hopkins University’s Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
Instead, “Ratings for satisfaction with affairs was high – sexual satisfaction and emotional satisfaction. And feelings of regret were low. These findings paint a more complicated picture of infidelity compared to what we thought we knew,” he says.
The research was conducted by surveys sent out a few months apart and included questions about the nearly 2000 participants’ relationships, their personality characteristics, and their affairs.