Infidelity hurts. The latest data show that couples divorce on average after 8 years of marriage. But when is infidelity most common?! In what year after the wedding?!
The idea of infidelity as well as the risk of fraud it is said to be most pronounced at about 7 years of marriage. According to the latest research, the risk of infidelity should decrease after 7 years of marriage. At least in women, while in men it appears even later in marriage.
According to some beliefs, seven years is a turning point. Even in marriage. This idea became popular after 1955 when the concept was explored in film "The Seven Year Itch" starring Marilyn Monroe. The latest data shows that there is much more truth to this than you might think. According to research, married adults are more likely to think about infidelity at seven years of marriage.
In a study published in the Journal of Sex Research, which involved 313 Israeli adults (average age 32-33 and married for at least one year), participants were asked about their thoughts on infidelity. The participants were divided into three groups: short (those with marriages of less than five years), medium-long (those who have been married between six and ten years) and long marriages (11 years and more).
The group that reported the most intense thoughts about infidelity was the group that had been married the longest. In fresh marriages, it makes sense, infidelity was less common. The longer the couple was together, the more likely you were to tell your partner you were thinking about cheating.
However, the pattern was slightly different for men and women. Specifically, infidelity is more likely in men, with everything longer laws. Among women, on the other hand, the ability to cheat was most pronounced in the middle group, i.e. in the period between 6 and 10 years.
Infidelity more common after 7 years of marriage
A study published in Journal of Marriage and Family, used data from a nationally representative sexuality survey conducted in the United States of America to examine when cheating was most likely to occur in a marriage. The results showed that the probability of cheating for women was the highest in the 7th year of marriage, after which it gradually decreased.
Men, on the other hand, had a high rate of infidelity also at 7 years of marriage, after which this risk decreased and increased again at 18 years of marriage. In fact, men who had been married for 30 years or more actually had the highest odds of cheating.
Most divorces happen right after the seventh year
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the average length of marriage before divorce is about eight years. This fits pretty well with the infidelity data mentioned above: divorces start to peak right after the likelihood of cheating hits its highest point.
