A woman who has been continuing an affair with a married man during the UK coronavirus lockdown warns they have no choice but to break social distancing rules soon - as virtual sex is "no substitute for real thing".
Personal trainer Marie, 31, has been having regular video call catch-ups with a businessman for the last few weeks, and says in that time she has become his "little stress buster".
However, shockingly, Marie says is now considering breaking the strict lockdown rules - which have been put in place to save lives and help the NHS - to meet up with him again in person.
The couple slept together for the first time just 24 hours before Boris Johnson enforced a UK-wide lockdown, meaning they haven't been able to see each other since.
Marie, from Ascot, said: "We knew it was coming and we were determined to have one last hurrah before the restrictions came into place.
"It was incredibly exciting.
"My lover has been incredibly stressed since the lockdown came into force because he has been forced to close all his businesses and at present he is struggling to get support from the Government. I am his little stress buster."
But she's worried that their virtual relationship isn't enough for either of them, and says she's considering going to see her lover.
She said: "We Facetime a couple of times a week and always have remote sex. It's fun.
"If this lockdown goes on any longer, we are definitely going to break it because, though remote sex is fun, it is no substitute for the real thing."
They met through IllicitEncounters, a dating site that matches people to have affairs, which has seen a 15 per cent rise in activity since lockdown began.
Marie started using the site after her divorce, which happened because she cheated, left her short of cash.
She said: "I was hard-up after the divorce because my husband subsidised my lifestyle, which is how I came to discover IllicitEncounters.com.
"A friend was using it to date richer, older men and she said that there were lots of men on the site who were right down my street. She was not wrong.
"I loved it from day one and was soon having an affair with a married finance director whose wife had lost interest in sex.
"We would meet twice a week for sex and he would lavish me with gifts - designer clothes, jewellery and all the latest gym gear so I would look good at work. Our dates were basically sex and shopping.
"As he was cheating on his wife, I didn't feel bad about cheating on him too and I soon picked up a second lover on the site - a director at local accountancy firm.
"He was a keep fit fan and took me on his personal trainer as well as his lover. We had a great time. He was more highly sexed than his wife and just wanted a bit on the side."
However Marie has said she's only having one affair at the moment as she's aware her current lover is very stressed and "needs her support".
She said: "I have been approached by a couple of other guys during lockdown on IllicitEncounters since lockdown.
"We will end up having affairs but I don't want to cheat on the restaurant owner at present because I know he is having a hard time and he needs me.
"I don't want to kick a man when he is down."
Marie has tried "normal" dating but she always finds herself going back to married men.
She said: "I tried more regular dating but it didn't really work for me.
"I was on Tinder for a while but all the men were brassic and I do like the finer things in life.
"I would settle into a routine of dating two men a month on the site - seeing each once or twice a week.
"I live in Ascot, a wealthy commuter town near London, and there are loads of members near me - bored husbands looking for some excitement.
"None of them has any intention of leaving their wives and I don't want that either.
"I often accompany my lovers on business trips, sometimes going abroad to places like Paris, Rome and even New York once.
"I am not really looking for a regular partner. I tried that with my husband and it didn't work.
"I am only 31 and I am still at that stage in my life where I am excited by the thrill of the chase, by the adrenalin rush you get when you sleep with a new partner for the first time.
"Until that leaves me - and I am sure I will grow out of it in time - I will stay on IllicitEncounters."
