'I'm a single woman and this is the reason I've dated 150 married men'

A single woman has confessed to meeting over 150 married men, drawn by their "desire to please and feel wanted".

The 52-year-old education worker from Surrey has been frequenting dating websites designed for married men for the past 14 years, having first joined while still with her husband. Despite initial concerns about the morality of such sites, she decided to take the leap and sign up.

She described her marriage at the time as "miserable", leaving her feeling "lonely," and devoid of both physical and emotional intimacy. Since joining the Illicit Encounters website, she claims to have met over 150 men, although she's only slept with four.

The woman - who chose to remain anonymous - says her relationships with married men have lasted anywhere between eight months and five years. She prefers to "compartmentalise" her affairs with these men, fully aware they will "never be mine", reports the Daily Star.

In a chat with Closer, she revealed: "I only become intimate with men I have feelings for. It's important to compartmentalise these relationships. They'll never be mine but we meet up weekly when life allows - it's surprisingly easy to escape for hours at a time if you want to - there's always 'friends to meet up with' or 'working late'."

In a bizarre twist, one woman recounts how she met a man who brought his wife to their initial rendezvous. The couple informed her that he was only permitted to have an affair with someone his wife deemed less attractive than herself.

She opted not to hang around to see if she passed the test. After joining the site with her husband's knowledge, she ultimately chose to divorce once her children were grown, yet continued using the platform.

She explained: "I appreciate married men. They have a desire to please and feel wanted, desired and young. And it means I retain my independence.

"I don't see myself as a marriage wrecker. Some of the men I've met, I've talked them through their marriage problems and they've gone away determined to make it work."

She admits that some of the men would likely have ended up divorced anyway due to a lack of "intimacy" and being "sexually frustrated". Despite never envisioning herself as someone who would engage in affairs, she has come to accept that "life is not a fairytale" and recognises that "adultery is as old as time".

This woman is among an increasing number turning to dating sites designed for those already married. Illicit Encounters reports a surge in registrations following Netflix's documentary 'Ashley Madison Sex, Lies and Scandal', which delved into the infamous 2015 data leak where 32 million users of the cheating website were exposed.

Another woman, who wished to remain anonymous, turned to the sites when her husband was diagnosed with early onset dementia. She confessed that she "missed sex and intimacy desperately".

She connected with three men on the website, and has been regularly meeting one for several weeks now. She shared: "He brings joy to my life."