26 10 / 2012
Men less likely than women to want the truth about an affair
Last week, we looked at how often someone would tell a friend that their partner was having an affair; we learned that amongst Icebreak users, married women were least likely to tell the truth to a friend. This week we took the next step in the survey to find out who would want to know themselves about a potential cheating partner.
Across the board with no consideration for age or relationship status, 79.6% of women and 77.8% of men said that they wanted to know if their partner were having an affair. Several users (4.8% of men and 3.8% of women) chose not to answer the question directly, but specifically answered the question with some variation of “that never would happen.” For those who specified that they did not want to know, men overall would choose not to know more often than women (9.6% of men versus 6.7% of women).
19.4% of women were unsure if they wanted to know, or said that knowing depended on the situation. For several women, an affair that happened in the past or was a one-time thing was not something they wanted to know about; however those same women would want to know about something currently happening or long-term.
Women in the 33-40 year old range were the least likely to want to know about an affair, whereas women 41-60 were the most likely to be unsure or take into consideration the situation.
Men in the 25-32 year range were more likely than any group of either sex to want a definite answer (88.9%). Additionally, men 33-40 years old were most likely to be unsure or consider the situation before wanting to know (16.7%).
Based on relationship status, men in dating relationships were least likely to want to know if their partner were cheating (12.5% said no) whereas married women were most likely to be unsure or consider the circumstances (10.8%).
Amongst those who specified they would leave a cheating partner, married women were least likely to leave their spouse (~16%), and dating men were most likely to leave their partner (25%). Married men and dating women who would definitely leave their partner were both around 21%.
Recurring comments on the subject of a cheating partner included:
- Concerns over sexually transmitted diseases
- Not wanting to “live a lie”
- Going to jail or prison
- Cutting off body parts
And for some levity, one of our favorite quotes from a user was that he wanted to know if his partner was cheating, but
Only during scrabble
For more ways to share perspectives with your partner, and for insight into a community of couples, check out theicebreak.com. Or, you can get our app to start connecting with your partner in a whole new way.
