See which regions have a higher chance of an unfaithful partner

New data has revealed a spike in the number of SA partners seeking to cheat and have an affair outside of their marriage. See the SA hot spots and the reason for the surge.

The number of SA partners seeking to cheat and have an affair outside of their marriage has surged, with new data revealing the reason for the trend.

A survey from Ashley Madison revealed Adelaide is the 18th most unfaithful city in the country, with many putting monogamy behind them.

Ashley Madison is an online dating service and social networking service marketed to people who are married or in relationships.

Ashley Madison communications director Isabella Mise said the Covid pandemic gave a new spin on the wants and needs of many of their existing and new customers.

“While non-monogamous people have always visited our site, we noticed a spike during the Covid-19 pandemic,” Ms Mise said.

“We released a report that found that even the small and otherwise inconsequential things someone may have disliked about their partner were exacerbated during the lockdowns, and many people came to realise their needs simply weren’t being met by the one person they explicitly promised themselves to.”

In just five months between late 2021 and early 2022, more than 2,900 South Australians signed up with Ashley Madison, with the northern suburbs and the Adelaide Hills regions leading the way.

Ms Mise said many people signing up still loved their current partner, but felt the need to adjust the rules of their relationship.

“We’ve since learned exactly how our members feel about closed and strict versus more open and fluid relationships,” she said.

“As it turns out, women are more likely than men to be in and enjoy open relationships.

“Additionally, many men and women believe that a broader societal shift toward and acceptance of open or non-monogamous relationships would result in fewer divorces, more open-mindedness, and less pressure on one person to fulfil all of their partner’s needs.”

But for Adelaide woman Nicole Birrell, the idea of a third party never enticed her when her former partner started having an affair.

“He entered his midlife crisis, he started going to the gym and began talking about this woman, he really kept making a point about us meeting, but it’s just not who I am,” Ms Birrell said.

“He wanted the best of both worlds, she was fit but when he didn’t want to play house anymore he would come home to me but I am a one person sort-of woman.”

Non-monogamy was the foundation of Ashley Madison’s creation in 2002, with discretion at the core of its service.

While infidelity, specifically, was the main selling point, millions of people in various other relationship situations have flocked to the site over the years, including those participating in disclosed non-monogamy.

Ms Mise also said the reason why men and women lean toward non-monogamy differ, with men wanting more emotional validation from their partner.

“Our male members have shared that they’d like their wives to ask them how their day was more often, and female members just want their husbands to make them orgasm,” she said.

“A lot of the time these unfulfilled needs go on unacknowledged even when they’re brought up, so members can either go on being unsatisfied, end a stable and loving relationship over one missing element, or come to a site like Ashley Madison to outsource that unmet need in a discreet way.”