Scientists from Johns Hopkins University have found that married people do not regret cheating and believe that the satisfaction outweighs the possible risks. Research published in the journal Sexual Behavior Archives.
The study’s authors surveyed nearly 2,000 users of Ashley Madison, a popular website for people seeking extramarital affairs. Between 20% and 25% of married people and 33% to 50% of young people in a relationship report having sex outside of a relationship.
Also, most men and women who cheat on their spouses do not regret the relationship and believe that it brings sexual and emotional satisfaction. Most of the respondents were middle-aged men, and most reported that they had a deep love for their partner and did not experience serious relationship problems such as lack of mutual affection.
However, about half of the participants also reported not being sexually interested in their partner. In fact, sexual dissatisfaction was cited as the main cause of infidelity.
This revelation casts a shadow on the popular theory that people cheat on marriages primarily because they are unhealthy, restless, or emotionally unsatisfying.
“We don’t see strong evidence here that people in relationships are associated with lower relationship quality or lower life satisfaction. Sometimes people cheat, even when their relationships are pretty good,” the scientists explained.