A third of Irish women (34%) cheat in revenge after their partners previously strayed — according to a new survey.
Slightly fewer Irish men (26%) also ‘revenge cheat’ to get their own back from an earlier betrayal.
The vast majority of revenge cheaters (82%) said they felt justified in having an affair because their partner erred first.
More men (54%) than women (48%) are likely to own up to a revenge affair to show their partner the error of their ways.
The most common way that people revenge cheat is through meeting a new partner on a dating website or app, chosen by 42% of respondents, followed sleeping with a former lover or friend (28%), contact through social media (12%), a work romance (10%) and a pick-up at a bar or club (8%).
There has been a 12% rise in revenge cheating since the end of lockdown as the new freedoms sparking a surge in affairs.
The results are revealed in a new survey of 2,000 people by IllicitEncounters.com, Ireland’s leading affairs site.
Being caught did not stop 44% of cheats from carrying on seeing a lover, despite telling their partner the affair was over.
The survey found that less than a quarter of people (23%) end their relationship after discovering an affair.
Far more (30%) stay with their partner and then get their revenge by having an affair of their own.
The survey found that a third of couples (32%) used lockdown to make a fresh start while stuck at home together for 18 months.
That involved confessing to a past fling for 13% of women and 10% of men.
IllicitEncounters.com sex and relationship expert Jessica Leoni said: “Revenge cheating has never been more popular in Ireland.”
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