Incredibly, 24 per cent of Brits have said that they still live with their cheating partner with no intention of trying to revive their marriage.
Relationships on Female First
A further 22 per cent have said that they still live with their cheating spouse having forgiven them for their infidelity.
Spokesperson for Illicit Encounters, the extra-marital dating site that conducted the research, Rosie Freeman-Jones says, “The number of Brits remaining under the same roof as their partner in the face of infidelity is higher than many would imagine. I’m not too surprised by these results however as I see every day that cheating and it’s impacts aren’t simply black and white.”
There are a number of reasons that a couple may choose to live together despite having gone through the trauma of a spouse cheating.
Rosie points out some of these reasons. She says, “Popular reasons include open marriages, those that are keen to keep up the pretence of a perfect marriage, those that don’t want their children to be impacted negatively by mummy or daddy not living with them anymore, and the most frequently mentioned reason: the recession and the fact that they cannot afford to leave the home they share their partner.”
The Duchess of Rutland has said that moving out of her home would have been unthinkable, and so both her and her husband came to a compromise, but relationship expert and owner of dating site iloveyouraccent.com Rochelle Peachey believes that it isn’t a decision that should be taken lightly.
She says, “Don’t even think about getting back together unless you have a strong feeling that things will work out, take some time to think and heal. It will be very tempting to get back with him/her living in the same house. If it's too hard, move on.”
Rochelle accepts that in this financial climate there are factors that will mean a couple having to live together despite a spouse having cheating.
She says, “If you simply cannot afford to move out and you do not want the marriage to mend then set some ground rules.
“Don’t share the marital bed, even with a wall of pillows down the middle, it’s no good. Don't dwell on the terrible things you said to each other, if you feel an argument arriving, walk into another room, go for a walk, anything but screaming and crying once again.
“Both parties need to prepare for the time when the other will have a new significant other, maybe quite a few others, but hold your tongue, it’s none of your business any longer. Do not attempt to criticize their manner of dress, alcohol consumption or what time they got home.”
Finally, Rochelle says that living with a cheating spouse can be a miserable existence, but should you have to then it’s important to compromise and be civil with one another.