Which Gender Cheats More In 2023?
In the US, men are more likely than women to cheat on their spouses.
- 23% of married men have had extramarital sex.
- 12% of married women have had extramarital sex.
Top Cheating Statistics - Editor's Choice
- 23% of men and 12% of women in the US have cheated on their spouses.
- 84% of men cheat for more sex or sexual variety.
- 73% of women cheat for more emotional attention or find out if they're still attractive.
- 75% of people who marry the person they cheated with get divorced.
- 74% of men and 68% of women would cheat if they were guaranteed that they wouldn’t get caught.
- 20% of breakups are a direct result of an affair.
- 25% of affairs only last a week while 65% last for 6 months.
- 41% of cheaters confess their sexual or emotional infidelity.
How Common Is Cheating?
44% of both unmarried men and women cheat.
20% of married couples in the US are likely to have experienced adultery, compared to 70% of unmarried couples.
Emotional cheating is common.
- 35% of women have had an emotional affair.
- 45% of men have had an emotional affair.
Sources: NCBI, CompareCamp, Insider
Are Singles More Likely To Cheat?
Unmarried people are almost twice as likely to cheat compared to married couples.
- 60% of single men have tried to get people in other relationships to cheat with them
- 53% of single women have tried the same
Sources: Love To Know, Psych Central
What Are The Top Reasons Men And Women Cheat?
Men cheat because of sexual dissatisfaction, while women cheat because of emotional dissatisfaction.
- 44% of men cheat for more sex
- 40% of men cheat for more sexual variety
- 40% of women cheat for more emotional attention
- 33% of women cheat to know if they are still attractive
- 11% of women cheat as revenge
Here are the top five reasons Americans and Europeans cheat by gender.
American Women
- My partner stopped paying attention to me
- The other person was really there for me
- I was having doubts about my relationship
- The other person was really hot
- I was bored
American Men
- The other person was really hot
- People were hitting on me
- I was having doubts about my relationship
- My partner and I weren’t having sex
- My partner stopped paying attention to me
European Women
- My partner stopped paying attention to me
- The other person was really hot
- I was having doubts about my relationship
- The other person was really there for me
- I needed to feel sexy
European Men
- The other person was really hot
- The other person was really there for me
- My partner and I weren’t having sex
- I was bored
- My partner stopped paying attention to me
73.6% of married women and 48.1% of married men have cheated because of relationship problems.
34.6% of married women and 26% of married men who have cheated did so because they were bored with their sex lives.
30.3% of married women and 15.2% of married men who have cheated did so to get even with their partner.
According to a study on infidelity rates that used machine learning, the most common signs that would lead to cheating behavior are:
For online cheating
- Desire to perform a sexual act that hasn’t been done with a partner, such as anal sex
- The longer a relationship goes
- Personal sexual desire
For in-person cheating
- Low relationship satisfaction
- Low romantic love
- Personal sexual desire
Sources: Her Norm, SuperDrug, TruthAboutDeception, Taylor & Francis Online
How Often Does Cheating Happen?
42% of divorced Americans cheated more than once.
53.4% of married women and 66.8% of married men who have cheated did so more than once.
60% to 68% of Europeans and Americans have cheated only once, while 32% to 40% have cheated more than once.
The breakdown between men and women from both regions is as follows:
Header | Cheated only once | Cheated more than once |
|---|---|---|
European Women | 65.6% | 34.4% |
European Men | 59.8% | 40.2% |
American Women | 59.9% | 40.1% |
American Men | 68.2% | 31.8% |
How Long Do Affairs Last On Average?
- 25% of affairs are over within a week
- 65% are over within six months
Source: WECT
Infidelity Statistics On Cheating A Second Time
Once a cheater always a cheater?
Not necessarily.
But cheaters are definitely a lot more likely to cheat again in their next relationship.
45% of cheaters who admit adultery in their past relationship cheat in their next relationship.
Cheaters are 3.5 times more likely to cheat again.
Sources: PsychologyToday, HuffPost
Who Do People Cheat With?
43.7% of married women and 22.3% of married men who cheat do so with someone their spouse knows.
36% of men and women have cheated with a coworker.
53% of married men and women admitted cheating with their ex.
17% of those who cheat have cheated with a brother-in-law or sister-in-law.
Only 3% of cheating men married the person they had an affair with.
The divorce rate of those who marry the person they had an affair with goes as high as 75%.
Sources: TruthAboutDeception, MyFloridaLaw, HackSpirit, BrandonGaille, LoveToKnow, Google Books
Where Do Most Affairs Begin?
Cheaters find people to cheat with in various situations.
Header | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
Cheated with a friend | 40.6% | 32.9% |
Cheated at work | 33.3% | 28.6% |
Going out in general | 17.5% | 21.8% |
Met someone in a bar | 12.4% | 19.5% |
Met someone on social media | 7.1% | 7.3% |
Met someone on a dating app | 4.7% | 14.9% |
Met someone on a business trip or vacation | 4.2% | 6.9% |
Met someone at school | 0.7% | 0.3% |
Met someone on a site dedicated to cheating | 0.2% | 3% |
Source: SuperDrug
What Do People Think Of Cheating?
Asia and Africa represent the top 10 countries where people believe adultery is unacceptable.
Country | Percentage who find it unacceptable |
|---|---|
Turkey | 94% |
Palestinian Territories | 94% |
Egypt | 93% |
Jordan | 93% |
Indonesia | 93% |
Lebanon | 92% |
Pakistan | 92% |
Philippines | 90% |
Tunisia | 90% |
Malaysia | 90% |
Europe is much more forgiving about cheating. There are five countries in Europe that are part of the top 10 countries that find cheating acceptable.
In France, people are relatively split about their views on adultery. 47% believe it is unacceptable, while 40% don’t consider it a moral issue.
Adultery is a crime in the Philippines.
In the US, over 90% believe infidelity is wrong, while less than 3% believe it is not wrong.
99% of Americans expect their spouse to be faithful.
One in five Americans have been unfaithful.
74% of men and 68% of women would cheat if they were guaranteed that they wouldn’t get caught.
Only 5% of people believe that their partner has cheated or will cheat on them.
98% of men and 80% of women have frequent fantasies about someone other than their partner.
Over 90% of people would want to know if they’ve been cheated on.
88% of women are more concerned about their partner emotionally cheating than physically cheating.
Sources: CompareCamp, Attorney.org.ph, HealthResearchFunding, YouGovAmerica, LA Intelligence, BBC, CouplesTherapyInc
The Top 10 Countries With Highest Infidelity Rates Worldwide
With Thailand being an outlier, all other countries in the top 10 countries with the highest infidelity rate are in Europe:
Country | % of married adults who have admitted having an affair |
|---|---|
Thailand | 51% |
Denmark | 46% |
Italy | 45% |
Germany | 45% |
France | 43% |
Norway | 41% |
Belgium | 40% |
Spain | 39% |
United Kingdom | 36% |
Finland | 36% |
Source: Statista
What Counts As Cheating In A Relationship?
How do Americans and Europeans define cheating?
Vaginal intercourse
- 81.4% of European men
- 85.6% of European women
- 97% of American men
- 99% of American women
Oral intercourse
- 78.2% of European men
- 83.8% of European women
- 96.6% of American men
- 97.6% of American women
Anal intercourse
- 76.2% of European men
- 81.9% of European women
- 95.3% of American men
- 98.1% of American women
Kissing
- 66.5% of European men
- 78.4% of European women
- 80.7% of American men
- 88.5% of American women
Heavy Petting
- 62.0% of European men
- 72.2% of European women
- 75.3% of American men
- 88.5% of American women
Spooning
- 35% of European men
- 44.1% of European women
- 62.7% of American men
- 70.8% of American women
- 29.8% of European men
- 42.8% of European women
- 67.5% of American men
- 62.7% of American women
Getting emotionally close
- 32% of European men
- 46.6% of European women
- 52.9% of American men
- 70.8% of American women
Sleeping in the same bed
- 34.7% of European men
- 41.9% of European women
- 51.2% of American men
- 62.2% of American women
Hand-holding
- 24.8% of European men
- 33.1% of European women
- 46.4% of American men
- 52.6% of American women
Going out as friends
- 18.6% of European men
- 23.4% of European women
- 29.2% of American men
- 43.5% of American women
About 70% of couples have not defined what cheating is for them.
Personal Background Of Cheaters
18% of adults that didn’t grow up in intact families have had an extramarital affair, compared to 15% that grew up with both biological parents.
19% of people who attend religious services once a year or less have reported cheating, compared to 14% of people who attend religious services once a week or several times a month/year.
Ashley Madison, the online dating platform focused on affairs, shows that 60% of its members are Republicans and 40% are Democrats.
18% of Democrats and 15% of Republicans have reported cheating.
College-educated adults are just as likely as those who only finished high school to have an extramarital affair.
- 16% of adults who graduated college have cheated on their spouse
- 15% of adults who graduated high school have cheated on their spouse
Cheating is more common among people who have specific types of vasopressin and oxytocin receptor genes.
- 62% of men with these genes have cheated
- 40% of women with these genes have cheated
Men with higher IQs are less likely to cheat on their wives.
Sources: IFStudies, ChristianPost, NewsWeek, The University of Queensland Australia, London School Of Economics And Political Science
How Much Does Age Factor Into Cheating?
The gender divide for married couples in the US when it comes to cheating varies across age groups:
Age Group | Percentage of married women cheated | Percentage of married men cheated |
|---|---|---|
18-29 | 11% | 10% |
30-39 | 11% | 14% |
40-49 | 13% | 15% |
50-59 | 15% | 23% |
60-69 | 16% | 24% |
70-79 | 13% | 26% |
80+ | 6% | 24% |
Married couples who are 30 years old and younger as well as those who are 70 years old and older are less likely to divorce even after experiencing sexual infidelity.
Sources: IFStudies, CompareCamp
Cheating And Marriage Statistics
Married people who cheat have rated their marriages as happy or very happy.
- 56% of married men who have an extramarital affair are satisfied with their marriage.
- 34% of married women who cheat are satisfied with their marriage.
Married men are 25% more likely than married women to have one-night stands.
Married women are 15% more likely than married men to have emotional affairs.
79% of wives who think their husbands are cheating turn out to be correct, while 62% of husbands who think their wives are cheating turn out to be correct.
Cheating spouses are less likely to stay married.
- 40% of cheaters who have married are divorced or separated
- 17% of those who were faithful are divorced or separated
- 50% of cheaters are still married
- 76% of those who are faithful are still married
Men who cheat are more likely than women to still be married.
- 61% of men who cheated on their spouse are still married
- 44% of women who cheated on their spouse are still married
88.8% of couples say infidelity is a major factor in getting a divorce.
49.7% of married women who cheat have thought about leaving their spouse because of the affair compared to 19.8% of married men who cheat.
Sources: PsychologyToday, LoveToKnow, HeTexted, IFStudies, HealthResearchFunding, NCBI, TruthAboutDeception
Do Cheaters Who Get Divorced Remarry?
61% of men who cheated have remarried, while only 44% of women who cheated have remarried.
50% of cheaters are currently remarried, while 76% of divorcees who never cheated are currently remarried.
Source: HerNorm
Stats On Cheating In The LGBTQ+ Community
In a survey focused on cheating between same-sex couples, 70% of respondents are male.
18% of bisexual individuals have reported cheating.
14% of homosexual men have reported cheating.
6% of homosexual women have reported cheating.
6% of those who are gender nonconforming have reported cheating.
33% of men and 22% of women said they would be more tolerant if their partners would cheat with the same sex.
Sources: CompareCamp, SexAndPsychology, SagePub
Online Cheating Statistics
80% are addicted to online affairs.
8% of cheating men and 3% of cheating women have started an affair online.
90% who started cheating online developed cybersex addiction where they would start a new affair right after the previous one ended.
40% of married women and 30.6% of married men who cheated did so via cybersex.
42% of Tinder users are in comitted relationships.
17% of dating app users were there to cheat during lockdown.
11% of millennials say they use dating apps to cheat.
Sources: WECT, HerNorm, TruthAboutDeception, DatingZest, NYPost, Hackspirit
What Professions Are More Likely To Cheat?
According to Ashley Madison, certain professions are more likely to cheat, with a stark gender divide in trade and medicine.
Professions more likely to cheat | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
Tradeworkers | 29% | 4% |
IT | 12% | 8% |
Entrepreneurs | 11% | 11% |
Retail and hospitality | 8% | 9% |
Medicine/Nursing | 5% | 23% |
People cheat in the office and on business trips.
Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|
Cheated on a business trip | 62% | 57% |
Cheated with a co-worker on a business trip | 53% | 27% |
Cheated in the office | 24% | 14% |
Sources: InvestigationHotline, Gleeden
Cheating And Money
Heterosexual individuals who are financially dependent on their partner are more likely to cheat.
- 5% chance of women cheating on their husbands if they are completely financially dependent
- 15% chance of men cheating on their wives if they are completely financially dependent
The more men earn relative to their spouse, the less likely they are to cheat, until they start making up more than 70% of the couples total income.
Going past that 70% threshold increases the likelihood of men to cheat.
The cost of an average extramarital affair is $2,664.
How Do Cheaters Get Caught?
21.5% of cheaters get caught by their partner investigating their suspicions.
47.8% of married women and 38.9% of married men who cheat have gotten caught by their partner.
8.3% of cheaters admit their infidelity to their spouses when accused.
8% of cheaters have been accidentally caught cheating by their spouse.
4.5% of cheaters have been caught cheating by third parties.
Source: TruthAboutDeception
How Many Americans And Europeans Who Cheat Get Caught?
Gender | Were caught | Were not caught | Confessed |
|---|---|---|---|
European women | 10.7% | 60.4% | 28.9% |
European men | 16.5% | 57.3% | 26.2% |
American women | 19.8% | 56.5% | 23.7% |
American men | 21.6% | 56.8% | 21.6% |
Source: SuperDrug
How Often Do Cheaters Confess?
41% of marriages where adultery happens have one or both partners confess their sexual infidelity.
In a survey about admitting to cheating:
- 22.1% said they cheated without revealing it to their partner
- 24% cheated and admitted it to their partner
- 76% admitted their previous affair to their new partner
In the same survey, respondents were also asked how long they waited before confessing.
52.4% confessed within a week
- 29.2% were married
- 46.9% were men
- 48% were women
26% within a month
- 22.9% were married
25.7% after six months or longer
- 47.9% of these were married
Cheaters had different reasons for confessing:
- 47% felt guilty
- 39.8% were unhappy and had to tell their partners
- 23% were caught by their partners
- 11% thought they got an STD and had to inform their partners
Cheaters show various levels of honesty when admitting their infidelity.
- 93% of cheaters who had sex with someone other than their partner admitted it
- 73% of those who kissed someone other than their partner admitted it
- 53% of those who contracted an STD from the person they were having an affair with admitted it
- 38% of those whose affairs led to pregnancy admitted it
What Are The Consequences Of Cheating?
Most relationships where people admitted to cheating led to breakups.
- 54.5% broke up not long after the confession
- 30% tried to make it work but broke up later
- 15.6% stuck together at the time of the study
31.4% of men and 28.7% of women who admitted infidelity divorced immediately.
61% of people who cheated in marriage and were given a second chance had to follow new rules, compared to 47.5% of those who cheated while unmarried.
The new rules that cheaters who stayed with their partners had to follow are:
- 55.7% had to allow their partner to look through their phone
- 48.5% had to avoid certain friends
- 43.3% had limitations on going out
- 39.2% had to give their partner access to their social media
- 30.9% had to end the other relationship
Affairs may not always directly cause breakups, but they are symptomatic of deeper relationship problems.
- 1 in 5 breakups are a direct result of an affair
- 27% broke up after an affair but not because of it
19.8% of women and 10.3% of men who cheated are still married.
71.9% of people who discovered their partner was cheating tried to fix their relationship.
20.5% of people who discovered their partner was cheating broke up.
7.5% of couples that experienced cheating repaired their relationship.
Relationships are 59% less likely to survive if the person who cheated resists answering questions from their partner.
Over 50% of American couples would break up or get a divorce if cheating happened.
17% of divorces in the US are caused by sexual behavior outside of the relationship.
Sources: HealthTestingCenters, HerNorm, SexAndPsychology, TruthAboutDeception, HeTexted, Gallup News, RightLawyers
Do People Get Addicted To Cheating?
Cheaters can be addicted to different forms of cheating:
- 50% are addicted to cheating via phone contact
- 42% are addicted to having an online affair
- 38% are addicted to cheating via explicit online chat
- 37% are addicted to cheating through online masturbation
- 31% are addicted to cheating via real-time sex
Source: NetAddiciton
Do Cheaters Regret Cheating?
The majority of Europeans and Americans who have cheated regret doing so, especially American men.
Gender | Regret cheating | Don't regret cheating |
|---|---|---|
European women | 58.6% | 41.4% |
European men | 56.5% | 43.5% |
American women | 57.8% | 42.2% |
American men | 71% | 29% |
Source: SuperDrug
Cheating In The UK Statistics
One in five Brits has had at least one affair.
In the UK, 20% of men and 19% of women have cheated at least once.
How often do British adults cheat?
- 50% of Brits who confessed to cheating stopped after the first affair.
- 20% of Brits who confessed to cheating had three or more affairs.
- 8% of Brits who confessed to cheating had five or more affairs.
Who do British cheaters cheat with?
- 43% cheated with a friend
- 38% cheated with a coworker
- 18% cheated with a stranger
- 12% cheated with an ex
- 8% cheated with a neighbor
- 3% cheated with a partner’s relative
60% of Brits have either found out their partner was cheating or aroused suspicion that their partner was cheating through a text message.
14% of Brits who were cheated on took their partner back.
75% of Brits who were cheated on didn’t take their partner back.
Sources: YouGov, GlobalInvestigations, YouGov
