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Inverness is Scotland’s new adultery capital with an 'explosion' of affairs after the end of the coronavirus lockdown, according to a new map


By Val Sweeney

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A new map shows Inverness to be top of Scotland's adultery hotspots.
A new map shows Inverness to be top of Scotland's adultery hotspots.

A new map of adultery hotspots has shown Inverness to be the cheating capital of Scotland.

It shows 4537 people – 6.7 per cent of the city's population – were having extra-marital affairs.

The map has been compiled by dating site, IllicitEncounters.com, which claims it represents a 13 per cent rise on last year’s figure of 4015 affairs.

But a comparison with figures published by the company last year appears to indicate that the number of Inverness people having an affair has declined over the past two years.

According to its figures in September 2020, 5375 people from Inverness were either having affairs, or thinking of having an affair, compared with 4803 the previous year.

A spokesman said: "There was an error in last year's figures.

"Covid crisis caused a lot of issues and we did a massive overhaul this year to ensure there were no further mistakes."

Illicit Encounters says cheating has risen by 11 per cent nationally since the start of the year as coronavirus restrictions have eased – the highest annual rise in the 18 years since the site was founded.

Its interactive Infidelity Index at illicitencounters.map allows users to search a town, city or postcode to discover how many people are having affairs in any locality.

While Inverness took the top spot, in second place was Aberdeen with 13,226 cheats (5.64 per cent of the population) Edinburgh was third with 24,266 cheats (4.79 per cent), Motherwell was fourth with 1421 cheats (4.45 per cent) and Dundee was fifth with 6513 cheats (4.39 per cent).

The most faithful town was Barry in Angus with 64 cheats (0.35 per cent), followed by Kilmarnock with 340 cheats (0.74 per cent) and Ayr with 349 cheats (0.74 per cent), Greenock with 333 cheats (0.75 per cent) and Kirkcaldy with 412 cheats (0.83 per cent).

IllicitEncounters.com spokeswoman Jessica Leoni said: "Inverness is Scotland’s new cheating capital.

"There has been an explosion in cheating after the end of lockdown, particularly since the start of autumn with almost all adults in the UK double jabbed.

"Record numbers of people came back from their summer holidays miserable and looking for excitement after 18 months of being bored and stuck at home with their partners.

"We have enjoyed the busiest year in our history with women in particular looking to start afresh and joining in unprecedented numbers.

"The cheating surge will continue as more of us return to the office in the run-up to Christmas. Adulterers often use work as a way to cover up their affair."

More than one million people have registered with IllicitEncounters since it started in 2003.

The average income of men on the site is £56,000 a year - with most working in professional jobs - while the female average is £48,000 a year.

Lockdown cabin fever sends adultery soaring in the Inverness area, claims website


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