Shut-ins turn to cheating

TOWNSVILLE was a hotspot for infidelity during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data released yesterday.

While the world slowed down during the coronavirus, one thing that didn’t slow down was cheating.

The world’s number one marriage dating site, Ashley Madison, reported it was adding 17,000 new members a day in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to the 15,500 new members per day the site saw during 2019.

Townsville was in the thick of the action, ranking behind only 10 Australian cities and towns with more sign-ons per capita in the past three months.

New South Wales took the top three spots with Albury, Coffs Harbour and Newcastle, while Canberra and Bunbury rounded out the top five.

Interestingly, Queensland had the most locations in the top 20, with the Gold Coast, Mackay, Rockhampton, Toowoomba, Cairns and Brisbane joining Townsville on the list.

“These cyber affairs serve as a release valve for individuals dealing with increased pressures in their marriage and domestic lives,” chief strategy officer for Ashley Madison Paul Keable said.

“With divorce rates reported to have increased in countries that have initiated their reopening, we’re offering an alternative pathway to help people cope and ultimately help couples preserve their marriage once the dust has settled.”

Just a month ago it was revealed 74 per cent of Australians had become more adventurous in the bedroom in lockdown, with local sex shop Extasy stating sales were up 50 per cent on the year prior.