Durban -
Bored spouses in upmarket Durban suburbs are the biggest cheats.
A survey by dating website AshleyMadison.com has ranked La Lucia as the number one suburb with the most cheats.
In 2012, this title was held by eMkhomazi (Umkomaas).
Following closely was Morningside and Hillcrest.
Durban also boasted the highest number of cheaters with multiple partners.
AshleyMadison.com discreetly pairs bored spouses with newly married or single partners.
The company released the results of the cheating survey after analysing 3 500 of its members in Durban and surrounding areas. It also found that people in the more affluent suburbs subscribed to the service.
“Now, the notorious dating website catering to those already in relationships shares Durban’s most cheat-friendly neighbourhoods. Luxurious La Lucia steals the title from the 2012 winner, Umkomaas,” said the company in a statement yesterday.
The survey found that the average member’s age was 34 for women and 35 for men.
It found that Ballito had the most married female members while the largest number of single women came from Westville.
Members who had the most children came from Pinetown. The youngest members came from Berea.
uMhlanga members had the most multiple partners.
The survey found that infidelity among women had increased since 2012.
“There has been a 37 percent increase in female members, with the current male/female ratio sitting at 59 percent and 41 percent respectively.”
AshleyMadison.com’s Chantal Hanzen said the purpose of the survey was to see how the “cheating hot spots” had changed.
The dating service, the second fastest growing in the world after Facebook, was created in Canada on February 13, 2002 by Noel Biderman, nicknamed the “King of Infidelity”.
The site has more than 26 million users in 37 countries including more than 192 000 in South Africa.
Hameeda Bassa-Suleman, a clinical psychologist based in Morningside, said she was not surprised that the more affluent areas with internet access were top-ranking in the results.
“I work with couples mainly within the Morningside, Musgrave, Berea, Overport areas, so I will not be able to comment on other areas. Most of the couples I see in my practice have experienced infidelity in their relationships on some level, so I would say that this is a fair representation. I cannot say whether the Morningside area is the second highest as I do not know what other couples are being treated for in other areas.”
She explained that there were various reasons why individuals became unfaithful.
“Sometimes individuals require more sex than they are receiving from their partners or they want to experience sex with someone other than their partners.”
She said some individuals were not emotionally satisfied in their current relationships and wanted to seek emotional validation and affirmation from another person.
“This helps uplift their self-esteem and helps to temporarily redefine their perception of themselves.”
She added individuals may also seek to have an affair because they may want to get back at their partners who had cheated on them first.
“On fewer occasions, individuals cheat because they become bored in the relationship, or are curious about what it is like to have an affair.”
The rise of social media, easy access to the internet and various social platforms on mobile devices, also had an impact, said Suleman.