* People working across politics – from MPs and councillors to civil servants – topped the list, with more than a quarter linking the sector to infidelity.
* High-pressure, long-hour professions linked to trust and authority, including police, doctors and teachers, also ranked highly.
* Experts say secrecy, stress and blurred work-life boundaries create the perfect conditions for affairs to develop.
* Study conducted by IllicitEncounters.com, the UK’s largest extramarital dating site
People working in politics – from MPs and councillors to civil servants and policy advisers – have topped a new and eyebrow-raising league table of Britain’s most unfaithful professions, according to a poll by IllicitEncounters.com, the UK’s largest extramarital dating site.
The survey of 3,000 UK adults found that those employed across the political sector are more likely to cheat than workers in any other profession, with 28% of respondents linking infidelity to roles within politics. Long hours, high-pressure environments and a culture of discretion were repeatedly cited as factors that make affairs more likely.
It’s not just people in politics keeping secrets, however. The research suggests that professions traditionally associated with trust and authority also feature heavily on the list. Police officers ranked second, with 23% of respondents associating the profession with infidelity, followed closely by doctors on 21%, where shift work, emotional intensity and irregular hours were frequently blamed.
Teachers also made the top ten, with 18% saying the profession is prone to cheating. Meanwhile, lawyers (15%) and those working in finance (14%) were also flagged as high-risk, with ambition, long days and blurred lines between work and social life cited as contributing factors.
Perhaps more surprisingly, roles rooted in care and public service still scored highly. Nurses (11%) and social workers (9%) both featured, while journalists (9%) and the military (8%) completed the top ten.
Jessica Leoni, sex and relationships expert for IllicitEncounters.com, says the results are less about profession stereotypes and more about environment. “When we talk about politics here, we’re not just talking about MPs in Westminster,” she explains. “We mean anyone working within the political system – civil servants, advisers, councillors and policy teams – roles that often involve long hours, emotional intensity and a strong expectation of discretion.”
She adds, “Professions that combine pressure, power and secrecy consistently rank highest when it comes to infidelity. When work becomes all-consuming and personal lives take a back seat, it’s actually often with colleagues – people who understand that pressure – where boundaries start to blur. I mean, Matt Hancock had an affair with an aide just a few years ago… do we really other people in politics haven’t been doing the same thing behind closed doors since then?”
Results
Top 10 professions most likely to cheat (according to respondents):
Politics – 28%
Police – 23%
Doctors – 21%
Teachers – 18%
Lawyers – 15%
Finance – 14%
Nurses – 11%
Social workers – 9%
Journalists – 9%
Military – 8%
Other – 12%
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