Although Christmas is all about family gatherings and festivities, there are some naughty spouses who spend the holidays planning secret affairs.
But while many of these flings take place throughout the festive season, they rarely take place on Christmas Day.
According to research by Ashley Madison, a married dating website, many cheaters plan to keep their family lives and secret lives completely separate over the holidays, with 66 per cent saying they will not meet with their affair partner.
Those who do, schedule an ‘alternate’ Christmas Day with their fling.
Although Christmas is all about family gatherings and festivities, there are some naughty spouses who spend the holidays planning secret affairs
71 per cent of those people will schedule that meet to take place within one week of Christmas Day.
‘Our members have stated that they won’t be spending much time, if any at all with their affair partner over the holidays this year,’ Isabella Mise, Director of Communications for Ashley Madison, said.
‘Yet, with the amount of stress and strife that inevitably comes from extended periods of time spent with family, many of our members may be reminded of why they initially came to Ashley Madison.
‘We have seen this trend over the past five years, with an 8.1 per cent increase in new signups between December and January.’
But while many of these flings take place throughout the festive season, they rarely take place on Christmas Day
Dating expert Louanne Ward previously spoke to FEMAIL about the signs to look out for when it comes to a serial cheater.
‘If a cheater gets away with cheating, the thrill of this can become exciting. Which is why, “once off cheaters” often become serial offenders. So, it’s very important to look for the telltale signs,’ Louanne said.
‘This type of cheater is a repeat offender and will continue to cheat again and again as they love the thrill of it.
‘Getting away with the crime gives them the power fix they desire as typically they have a narcissistic personality.’
So what should you look out for?
71 per cent of those who meet with their secret partners during the holidays will schedule that meet to take place within one week of Christmas Day
‘This narcissistic cheater is a seasoned pro so they can be harder to detect because they have mastered their craft,’ Louanne said.
‘Often when you first meet them and ask what happened in their last relationship, they will tell you that their ex was insecure and jealous and after a while it affected their relationship.
‘They will go out of their way to tell you they have friends of the opposite sex and if you are going to have a problem with that it’s not point continuing as they don’t want to live the nightmare again.’
After laying this base down, this cheater now has their ‘get out of jail’ card if they need to use it, Louanne explained.
Louanne said this cheater is the hardest to identify as they ‘know the track and have the road map imprinted in their dialogue’.
‘We have seen this trend over the past five years, with an 8.1 per cent increase in new signups between December and January,’ Isabella Mise, Director of Communications for Ashley Madison, said
‘When you raise the normal questions about where they have been, whether they had a good night and who were they with, what you don’t expect in return is their defensiveness,’ Louanne said.
‘They’ll say things like “Why are you asking me, you are making me feel like I’ve done something wrong” or “Why are you being suddenly insecure? I’m not going to talk about it”.
‘You almost feel guilty as if you have wrongly accused them. However, as the weeks and months go on and more signs emerge you find yourself on eggshells.
‘In your heart you know something is not right but the cunning serial offender almost has you believing it’s all in your head, in fact they will confess their undying love and in the same breath suggest you get help as you are ruining the relationship with your insecurities.’