Jealousy is an intruder in many relationships and upsets the balance between a couple. But beware, this feeling that applies to both women and men is not reserved just for faithful spouses! According to the latest study by Gleeden, the European leader in extra-marital encounters with nearly 4 million members, unfaithful people are also very jealous!
It is hard to imagine an intimate relationship totally void of jealousy. According to a study by Statista, 57% of French people are jealous, be it in a controlled, moderate or obsessive way. But what about unfaithful people? Those who allow themselves a little bit of mischief from time to time should be the first to tolerate it from their partner! Not at all, it would seem. The unfaithful are just as jealous as the rest, or even more so!
Being unfaithful is hard to forgive… even for an unfaithful person!
Out of more than 8,000 unfaithful members interviewed by Gleeden, 81% admit having already kept tabs on their partner to find out if he was having an affair and 62% say they could not forgive their spouse’s infidelity! A situation which is paradoxical at the very least, but not that surprising, according to psychoanalyst, Alain Krotenberg. Indeed, jealousy would actually be “a reflection of the unconscious desire to deceive the other”. So, being well aware of the desires and temptations which affect us all, the unfaithful would be all the more suspicious and jealous of their spouses.
As for how they view infidelity, the unfaithful are no more tolerant than others either! More than half of Gleeden members say they would no longer be able to trust their spouse if they were unfaithful (54%) and nearly a quarter said they would feel betrayed (21%). Finally, 14% of the unfaithful interviewed confess that they their self-esteem would be too damaged to forgive their spouse’s misconduct. Couples have one rule to follow: “Do as I say, do not do as I do!“
Jealous of my wife and my mistress?
If the unfaithful are jealous of their spouses, are they the same with their lovers? Evidently not! 91% of Gleeden members interviewed admit to being more jealous of their spouse than their lover. While the official couple represents commitment, stability and the family circle, the extra-marital relationship is more fleeting and superficial. This explains why jealousy is often reserved for the spouse!
Infidelity and marital espionage
While today’s new technologies significantly enable extra-marital relations, are they also used by the jealous unfaithful? According to a recent European study by Gleeden 89% of unfaithful people confess to using technology to maintain and hide their extramarital relationship, while 23% of them also claim to use technological tools such as mobile applications to spy on their spouse! Incredible, isn’t it?
Jealousy is definitely a fatal flaw!
*Gleeden online survey conducted from 1st to 8 January 2018 among 8.021 European Gleeden members.
