Summer lovin' is definitely here. We often associate summer with flings and fun, but new data shows it's also the season for something a little more sinister — like the most popular time for cheating.
A new survey from IllicitEncounters.com, a dating site for married people, has found that summer is the optimum time for those having an affair. In fact, the site has identified Friday, July 20 as the number one day for people to have cheat, based off of last year's data, earning it the nickname "Frisky Friday". The site surveyed over 1,000 married UK users and looked at data from 2017, where they saw a 25 percent increase in membership over the summer.
"You would think the winter months might be a more popular time for cheating because it is cold and miserable and we all need cheering up," IllicitEncounters.com spokesperson Christian Grant tells Bustle. "But our research showed that cheating peaks in the summer months. This is largely because the weather is better, the nights are longer and we all feel a little more confident and sexier in the sunshine. This feel-good factor makes people act a bit more hedonistically — they seek lots of new ways to have pleasure and they tend to go out more in the summer. If you are out and about, you are more likely to meet people new and there are more opportunities to stray."
"The third week of July has a 54 percent increase in site activity, with Frisky Friday seeing a whopping 70 percent rise."
And the third week in July is exactly when everything peaks. The third week of July has a 54 percent increase in site activity, with Frisky Friday seeing a whopping 70 percent rise. Although the data was from the UK, IllicitEncounters.com said you could expect similar peaks in the U.S. during this time. And this summer, it seems to be more popular than ever. "This has been an exceptionally hot summer... and we all just feel a little sexier," Grant says. "Those circumstances are the perfect environment for affairs. When the sun comes out, many people instinctively think of sex."
But it's not the only time cheating happens. Here were the top six most popular months for cheating based off of IllicitEncounters.com's site activity.
1July
July, the middle of the summer, is the most pipping hot month for cheaters. Even if they're away on a vacation, 82 percent of cheaters still keep up contact with their affair partner.
"People who have multiple affairs develop elaborate techniques to cover their tracks and ensure that they don't get caught," Grant says. "Just because they are on holiday with their families doesn't mean that they let their guard down. They will continue to be careful about contact with their [affair partners] and their phones will remain locked and out of the reach of their spouse." And as soon as they get home, they go right back to them.
2June
Another hot month that's popular for vacations, June came in at number two. In fact, 42 percent of those surveyed go on to two different vacations — one with their family or main partner and one with their affair partner.
3September
If there's been so much focus on heat, why is September number three? Well, IllicitEnconters.com suggested that it may be that, because many cheaters have families and they're trying to get time with their affair partner either right before or after school vacations and summer vacations. The survey found that 62 percent of cheaters see their fling within a week of retuning home for a break.
4January
Why does January make the top of the list? The same reason as September. People are done celebrating the winter holidays with their family, so they return to their other partner.
6August
And just to prove that summer is the king of affairs, August comes in to round up the top six.
There's never a "good" time to have an affair, but it makes sense that it would peak in the summer when people are feeling risky.
