Turns out, it’s not the seven-year itch couples should fear, it’s the nine-month one.
Parents, a new survey reports, are nearly twice as likely to cheat as married people without children. In the online study of 1,000 18- to 49-year-olds, followed up with focus groups around the country, 18 percent of parents said they’ve strayed, compared to only 11 percent of childless married people.
“When you have children, you get lost in who you are as a woman,” a 40-year-old Florida mom of six tells The Post.
I’d say cheating even makes me a better parent because it makes me a happier person.
- 40-year-old Florida mom of six
She says she began cheating after learning her husband had strayed. Her two children at the time were 2 and 5. Though she had initially wanted to get even, she found the confidence boost exhilarating.
“It’s a break from the kids,” says the woman, who owns a children’s clothing boutique and asked to remain anonymous. She says her affair encouraged her to lose her post-pregnancy weight and “start wearing extensions again. When you’re a mom, you literally wake up and you go to sleep wiping butts, wiping noses, and if you get out of yoga pants, it’s a good day.”
Her first marriage lasted 13 years. She married again six years ago and had four more children.
She says she thought she’d stay true to hubby No. 2, until their sex life dried up.
They were having sex just once every six weeks, and their conversations revolved around soccer practice and carpools. So she signed up for AshleyMadison.com, a website that caters to those looking to have affairs. She says the attention makes her feel “sexy and alive again — it’s like having two lives. I’m a mom and wife, and then I’m living this romance-novel life on the side.
“I’d say cheating even makes me a better parent because it makes me a happier person.”
Melissa Lavigne-Delville, the San Francisco-based culture and trend expert who conducted the study, says many parents are logging onto social networks like Facebook and Instagram for emotional fulfillment.
“What’s clear from our study is the likelihood of committing infidelity is far greater once the pressures and realities of parenthood enter the equation,” says Lavigne-Delville, “and digital only makes it that much easier and blurs the line of what is actually cheating.”
Lavigne-Delville conducted the study in conjunction with USA Network, which is airing the new scripted series “Satisfaction,” premiering Thursday at 10 p.m., about married parents dealing with infidelity.