A new survey has revealed that South African wives are likely to cheat on their husbands less than 10 years after being married.
According to data from cheating website VictoriaMilan, South African women wait longer than those in other countries before cheating on their spouses.
The site, which facilitates discreet extramarital affairs, found that South African women wait for 6.8 years after the wedding vows before embarking on an affair.
That compares well with women in Ireland who wait just 3.6 years and Swedish women who enter affairs after 4.1 years.
However, US women start their affairs after an average of 8.5 years of marriage and South American women try out new lovers after 7.4 years of marriage.
Affair age
“Married women start having affairs for various reasons. Perhaps their husband is not giving them the attention and respect they deserve. Perhaps they still love their partners, but the spark has vanished from their marriage.
Alternatively, they may have an open relationship, and both have affairs to satisfy their physical needs whilst still sharing a tight emotional bond,” said Sigurd Vedal, founder of VictoriaMilan.
Vedal who is still “happily married” started the site in 2010 and today has 5.8 million members.
In terms of age, South African women are about 36 years old when they begin their affairs, much older than UK women who are between 25 and 29, but younger than women in Spain (40 – 44).
According to StatsSA’s Marriages and divorces 2014 report, fewer South Africans are getting married and divorces increased 3.4% from 2013 to 2014.
The divorce age was 43 and 40 for men and women respectively, the StatsSA report found.
“What do these findings teach us? That women at a global level are, on average, seeking new lovers between seven and eight years after marriage,” said Vedal.
The global age average for female affairs is about 37 years old for women who have been married for a shade under eight years.
The research did not expand of the reasons for the affairs, but Vedal argued that it may have something to do with lacklustre marriages.
“Whatever the reason, having an affair can help married women rediscover their zest for live, their sensuality, and the physical passion they may miss.
These are universal needs, and craving sexual pleasure is something billions of us have in common - no matter how many other differences we may well have.”
