Nearly half of women said they've been cheated on during the pandemic in a dating app survey
- A survey by Dating.com found 45% of women polled had been cheated on since the beginning of March.
- The data was taken from 2,000 people to understand dating patterns in quarantine.
- A majority of people surveyed suspect they've been cheated on at least once during the pandemic.
While the logistics of cheating may seem impossible during a pandemic, a new survey found it doesn't seem to be stopping people from being unfaithful.
Dating.com polled 2,000 of its US users on whether they had been cheating on since early March, when the novel coronavirus was declared a pandemic. Over half of all people surveyed (55%) suspected their partner of cheating.
Some 45% of women polled said they'd been cheated on, along with 15% of men.
Nearly one-third of respondents said the affair took place with an old flame, and 20% of flings turned into more serious relationships after they broke up with their partner.
"Stay at home orders placed a strain on many existing relationships and really put those connections to the test," Maria Sullivan, the Vice President of Dating.com, said in a statement. "The distractions of everyday life were removed during quarantine and, unfortunately, many couples were unable to rediscover that deeper connection."
This poll was conducted on Dating.com users, so people in long-term or serious relationships may not have been heavily represented .
Data suggests people are moving to virtual affairs during the pandemic
The idea of trying to juggle an affair in-person might feel dangerous right now, but data shows people are getting creative to step outside their relationships.
Two psychologists from The University of Tennessee Knoxville recently wrote an editorial saying pandemic-related stress is destroying relationships, and that people are shifting to dating apps to have affairs.
One woman on Ashley Madison, a dating site designed for married people to have affairs, previously told Insider she was keeping up online affairs with seven men despite quarantine.
"It's such a s----y time for everybody, and most married people are isolated or quarantined together," Nikki said. "It's even more stressful in your marriage to be around your spouse that much, that often, that long, and it makes you want to reach out to somebody even more, even though it's riskier than ever."
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