When Chloe Burton* walked down the aisle in 2020, she truly believed that it was for life. But three years later Chloe began an affair with a married man.

Chloe, 36, who lives with her husband Justin in Aberdeen, explains, “My husband got a promotion at work in our second year of marriage. It was more money but more responsibility too, he started working late and his priorities shifted. He became distant and we started bickering.

“I tried to discuss it but he became very defensive. All the spontaneity went and our lives became very routine. I’d try to suggest a date night, but he was always too tired.”

PRIORITY

For Chloe it was a shock that their marriage deteriorated so quickly. She says, “It went from amazing to awful. I felt taken for granted – but I don’t want the marriage to end as I love my husband.”

So six months ago, Chloe, who’d never cheated in a relationship before, went looking for intimacy elsewhere. She says, “We don’t have any children, I was bored and lonely and joined a dating site geared towards married people who were looking for something outside of their marriage.

“It was completely on a whim and I didn’t think I’d ever go through with anything. But I got chatting to someone and he was lovely and gave me the attention I craved.”

Chloe’s lover is married too, but they manage to meet up most weeks as she works from home in HR, and he runs his own business, so his hours are flexible. They go for lunch before checking into a hotel room.

Chloe admits, “He gives me the attention I crave and makes me feel wanted. I do feel guilty, but equally I feel that my husband has broken our marriage contract. He’s a completely different man and won’t even agree to counselling.

FLEXIBLE

“You only live once and I shouldn’t spend my time miserable. I don’t know what the future holds, I hope so much that my husband and I can get our relationship back on track, but he has to meet me halfway.”

According to statistics, the number of women who have been unfaithful has risen by 40 per cent in the past 20 years.

And committing adultery so soon into a marriage is surprisingly common. A survey by Illicit Encounters, a dating site for married people to meet affair partners, shows that the vast majority of cheaters – 33 per cent – do it in the third year of marriage. The next most popular years were four and five with 12 per cent of couples straying, while the seven-year-itch only applied in 10 per cent of cases.

Relationship and dating expert for Illicit En