BED-HOP BRITS ARE Rise of middle age sex cheats
30% admit doing dirty on their partner Half of them had fling after they turned 40
BRITAIN is a nation of cheaters, with a third of people being unfaithful – and nearly half of those straying in MIDDLE AGE.
Almost 10 per cent aged between 40 and 70 confessed they have cheated more than three times, our shock sex survey reveals.
Of the 30 per cent of all ages who have cheated, 45 per cent said they did so after turning 40.
The Mirror Survation poll also revealed that 47 per cent of those who did the dirty on their partner did not regret it.
The figure was one per cent higher among married love cheats.
But relationship expert Dr Pam Spurr was not shocked at the high numbers of cheaters, especially those in middle age.
TEMPTATION
She said: “The numbers aren’t that surprising, especially if people have been in a long-term relationship when the daily grind wears things away.
“If you are arguing over daily bills and have been married 15 years and then someone else is telling you you’re great, it’s going to be a temptation.”
She also blamed “playing away” on society’s normalisation of cheating – and of people’s tendency not to regret what they have done.
The doctor explained: “There are so many celebrities now caught with their trousers down.
“In people’s own minds there is less self judgment, they are more likely to think cheating is okay if their partner doesn’t know.”
The eye-opening results were laid bare in an exclusive survey of 1,000 middle-aged men and women across the nation.
In the poll, six per cent admitted to cheating on a partner more than 10 times since turning 40.
Among married people who admitted to having had an affair, 44 per cent said they have cheated since turning 40.
Dr Spurr also highlighted a greater sense of self-entitlement as a root cause – especially as the mi d d l e - a g e d become less likely to accept a pipe and slippers as their “lot” in the way people did yesteryear.
She said people of all ages want perfection from a relationship – and will look elsewhere if their partner fails to tick every box. She said: “People seem to be thinking they should be getting everything in a relationship. They have an idea of perfection and that they shouldn’t have to settle for anything less. I despair at times at how great expectations are. And the middle-aged are not counting themselves out of this just because they are older.”
The survey suggests millions of people are happy to embark on an affair as long as they know their other half will not find out. Just over 17 per cent – equating to more than four