Sex surveys reveal one in three Brits will cheat on their partners at staff Christmas parties
Two separate surveys show how easily things spiral out of control during the month of alcohol-fuelled antics
A SHOCKING one in three adults admits to cheating on their partner during the Christmas party season.
And those in the West Midlands are the biggest cheats while Scots are the best behaved, according to exclusive surveys for The Sun on Sunday.
A third of us admit to having strayed in the three weeks leading up to the December holidays.
Most blamed too much booze at office bashes.
BBC radio host Zoe Ball and Towie favourite James Argent are among those to have been caught playing away at their respective Christmas parties.
But most cheats get away with it — 90 per cent say their other halves have never uncovered the truth.
Two separate surveys lifted the lid on festive cheating.
They show how easily things spiral out of control during the month of alcohol-fuelled antics.
More women than men admit to going behind their partners’ backs in the season of goodwill.
Around 35 per cent confessed to cheating in the build-up to Christmas, compared with 31 per cent of men saying they had been unfaithful.
Two-thirds of cheaters blamed too much alcohol for their lapse. Of those who strayed, almost half (46 per cent) carried on seeing their coll-eague on the sly AFTER the holidays.
In 2015, It Takes Two presenter Zoe, 48, found out the hard way that getting carried away at the office bash can have serious consequences.
She snogged aspiring singer TayTay Starhz — 23 years her junior — in front of shocked colleagues at the end-of-year bash for Strictly Come Dancing’s sister show.
TayTay, 22 at the time, said: “She wasn’t acting like someone who was married. She was acting like she was single.”
The following year Zoe split from her DJ husband Fatboy Slim, aka Norman Cook, 55, after 18 years of marriage.
In 2013, Towie’s James Argent, 30, snogged co-star Amy Childs, 28, in the toilets at an ITV Christmas party — despite being in a long-term relationship with co-star Lydia Bright, also 28.
James later admitted: “Sam Faiers walked in on us. I didn’t sleep with Amy but we kissed and I got caught.”
Around three-quarters of people who cheated with a work colleague (74 per cent) admitted the flirting began WEEKS before the office bash.
More than a quarter made no secret of the fact they were being unfaithful — mainly because they were drunk.
Fewer than a third of cheats (32 per cent) said they regretted their fling, even suggesting they were likely to do it again.
Should you end it?
SUN agony aunt Deidre Sanders says:
The tide of alcohol that sweeps over us at this time of year means my post-Christmas and New Year mail bag is filled with confessions of cheating – together with howls of rage and pain from deceived partners.
Is the seasonal spirit any excuse?
Not really – but most people have done something they regret when under the influence.
If it is a one-off incident in an otherwise happy and healthy relationship, I’d say check whether there are any tensions building up between you.
But be ready to learn from the experience then put it behind you.
If you would like a copy of my e-leaflet Cheating – Can You Get Over It? email me at problems@ deardeidre.org.
But if it is yet another instance of cheating by a partner who can never be trusted, please read the writing on the wall and move on.
The fact it’s Christmas is no excuse. You only stand to get hurt again and again.
The survey of 1,000 people was carried out for The Sun on Sunday by illicitencounters.com, a dating site for married people.
Separate research by Insurance2go identified people in the West Midlands as the worst offenders for playing away at Christmas.
In its poll, 16 per cent have had festive flings compared with only seven per cent in the East Midlands.
Other guilty areas include East Anglia (15 per cent) and London (14 per cent) while just three per cent of Scots admitted to having affairs.
Fewer than one in ten (nine per cent) of people in Wales came clean about playing away.
Christian Grant, of Illicit Encounters, said: “Beware of the Christmas party season — it is a hotbed for affairs.
“Sexual tensions that have bubbled up over the working year finally explode due to drink and the opportunity to grab a kiss under the mistletoe.
“The good news for cheats is they are very unlikely to get caught if they start an affair at this time of year — though they are advised not to flaunt their new love in front of their colleagues.”
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