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Men nearly twice as likely as women to cheat on their partners, survey finds

 (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Men are nearly twice as likely to have had an affair than women, a new survey on male attitudes towards sex has found.

British GQ’s Sex Survey, released on Wednesday (29 March), asked 604 people across the UK how they feel and think about dating, relationships and sex.

The results showed that 60 per cent of men who participated claim to have had an affair, compared to just 32 per cent of women.

In addition, one fifth (21 per cent) of men in monogamous relationships said they were still using dating apps.

However, men and women were almost equally in agreement that following or interacting with people on social media can constitute cheating, with 37 per cent of men and 32 per cent of women agreeing.

The survey also found that men were more than three times (29 per cent) as likely as women (eight per cent) to keep nudes that were sent to them by an ex or a former love interest even after they have broken up.

Nearly half of the men (47 per cent) surveyed said they would consider getting into a non-monogamous relationship, with nine per cent already in a polyamorous relationship and 12 per cent in a consensually non-monogamous or open relationship.

The survey points towards a shifting attitude towards monogamy and suggested that “the pandemic led many people to re-examine what makes them happy and lean into sexual experimentation”.

Elsewhere in the poll, the majority (70 per cent) of men admitted to lying about themselves on dating apps by misrepresenting themselves in photos and descriptions.

It found that 36 per cent of men misrepresented themselves in their photos, while 35 per cent lied about their age.

In addition, 28 per cent lied about their age and 27 per cent about their height.

The survey was carried out by British GQ from February to March 2023. Participants were asked to answer a series of single, multiple choice and write-in questions.