- A new survey asked people about infidelity, specifically when they first cheated.
- They found that women are most likely to cheat between seven and 10 years of marriage, while men tend to cheat after 11 years.
- They also found that people stop themselves from cheating out of moral obligation and the fear of being alone.
When you think about someone who cheats, you may think of someone who is decades into a marriage and has just become bored with the same-old routine. But a new study found there is a certain amount of time people are married before cheating— and it may not be as long as you might think.
The study surveyed 423 participants about what would make them stray in their marriages and why. They found that people who identify as women were vastly more likely to cheat within the window of six to 10 years of marriage.
And although that may not seem like a lot, researchers pointed out this may coincide with the trope of the "seven-year itch"— the feeling of wanting to stray after about seven years together.
But for people who identify as men, the findings were not as clear-cut. The survey didn't find a universal time that men cheat in their marriages, but on average they waited about 11 years before cheating.
When asked why they would avoid cheating, people were less concerned about their children or their partner, and said they actually would avoid it because they don't want to end up alone or were too moral to do it.
As far as who is least likely to cheat? Researchers found that those who say that they would abstain from cheating the most were more religious people who identify as women and who have been married for a short amount of time.
Of course there are a myriad of reasons why someone might cheat and every relationship is different. But no matter what the reason, for your sake and your partner's, it's probably better not to.
Sign up here to get INSIDER's favorite stories straight to your inbox.
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: What it's like to fly on North Korea's one-star airline