More than a third of women admit to cheating on a partner at some stage, while another 12% have considered it, but never followed through, a new survey has revealed.
That compares with 48.5% of men who say they have been unfaithful, and a further 5% who say they would, if they could guarantee not being busted.
According to relationships Australia counsellor Lyn Fletcher, there were more opportunities today for women to stray because women are in the workplace more and are exposed to the opportunities that the Internet and social media provide.
Fletcher said cheating on a partner was almost never excusable, which is perhaps why more than 90% of the participants in the Daily Telegraph survey said they would not forgive a cheating lover.
However, exactly what constitutes cheating is hotly debated by some couples, News.com.au reported. Almost 40% of men surveyed did not believe kissing another woman was cheating on their partner and more than half believed it was ok to send naughty texts or emails to someone else.
On the other hand, fewer than 15% of women thought kissing another person was acceptable, and almost three-quarters categorised sexting as a form of infidelity.
The reasons for cheating were also different depending on whether the cheater was a man or a woman.
According to the survey, most blokes had affairs simply “because the opportunity was there” or “for the thrill of it”, whereas women strayed overwhelmingly due to being unhappy in their relationship.
