According to an interesting survey conducted jointly by MSNBC and iVillage, there is a lot going on behind closed doors that people wouldn’t otherwise admit to in the love, lust, and loyalty departments. With regard to whether or not some of those things are even acceptable – it turns out that opinions often vary based on gender.

The survey, which addressed a range of topics including reasons for infidelity and the differing definitions of cheating, ended up with some very interesting results. And in a few cases, some results that were quite disturbing! For example, results showed that approximately one full quarter of married people (one in four) have cheated on their spouses. Interestingly enough, that same cross section of society showed that 81% of women and 62% of men agreed that cheating was unacceptable.

So what is cheating, exactly? As it turns out, not everyone agrees on the definition. Most people agree that physical sexual encounters count as cheating, though the lines are not so definitively drawn when it comes to other types of sexualized encounters. What does that mean? Probably exactly what you suspect it does…

While 77% of women feel that online relationships, including webcamming, is cheating, only 57% of men agree with them. This appears to spill over into the realm of cheating as well – only 53% of men think that sending flirtatious emails to a coworker is cheating, but 73% of women think it counts as infidelity.

Gender plays a large role in how cheating is perceived … and pursued.

Another interesting snippet of information revealed by the study was the fact that income plays a role in cheating, and maybe not in the way you’d expect. Apparently men are more likely to cheat the higher their income, while for women there is no correlation. Unfortunately these results aren’t making the gentlemen look very good here.

Also, there is the issue of love – or the lack thereof. Most cheaters will admit to loving their marital partners, but cheat anyway because they are looking to meet a need that has nothing to do with love. More men said the need in question was a desire for more sex, while the majority of women said they cheated to fulfill an emotional deficit in their marriages.

Of the 70,288 individuals who participated in this online survey, those who admitted to cheating on their spouses admitted to an interesting range of emotional responses to the infidelity: Predictably, 49% said they felt guilty, 39% said they experienced regret, and 32% said the situation caused them stress. Interestingly, an entire 43% of participants said that the cheating made them feel more desirable.

So… did they get away with it? According to the survey results, 60% of cheaters felt that their partners never even suspected, while 10% said that their partners were suspicious but never found evidence or knew for sure. A meager 6% claimed to have confessed when confronted, and only 2% of cheaters admitted being caught in the act. Hmmm…..

In reality, infidelity is a very real issue for married couples, and features as a frequent cause for divorce. So if you are considering cheating on your spouse, know that you may need to give us a call in the very near future. Conversely, if you discover that your spouse has been unfaithful and you want to end your marriage, call us at 866 766 5245 today. We can help you to sort out your difficulties and prepare for a new future.