40pc of women who cheat tell at least one friend about it: UK study

London, Sept 17 (ANI): A new UK study has found that women are more likely to gossip about an affair they have had than men would, with 43 percent of them admitting they have told at least one friend about it.

The new research, carried out by dating website IllicitEncounters.com, also found that 15 percent of women tell more than one person, while men prefer to tell strangers.

More than four in ten women who have cheated on their partner admitted they talked about it with at least one friend, while three quarters of men who cheat on their partner are far too scared of being found out to tell anyone at all.here men are concerned just six percent tell a friend of their affair, while 12 percent admitted they would tell someone they had just met that they were playing around.

Relationship expert, Phillip Hodson, from the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, said men are far less trusting of their friends than women and are programmed not to reveal anything, which could make them vulnerable.

"In short, men don't tend to reveal things about themselves while women like storytelling and tend to have more confidence and trust in their friends," the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.

"Men don't tend to bond in the same way and are loathe to share stuff which could make them vulnerable," he said.

Hodson also added that men bond in terms of common experiences on stag weekends, and they fear that sort of information could be used against them, and so they choose to open up to a stranger.

The research also found that 77 percent of men tell no one about having an affair compared to just 28 percent of women.

"Some may assume men would boast about their extramarital conquests, but the truth is quite the opposite," Sara Hartley, of IllicitEncounters.com, said.

"To them, the best thing would be to tell no one and the second most comfortable thing would be to tell someone who has no way of outing them such as a complete stranger.

"Women have always been better supported by friends and peers when it comes to issues of the heart.

"It seems that a mixture of social conventions and traditional gender stereotypes mean most guys simply don't feel comfortable opening up to friends.

"It doesn't surprise me that gentlemen using our site to have an affair take whatever opportunity they have to spill the beans to a stranger. An affair is a lot to keep to one's self," she added. (ANI)