Windsor, the Berkshire town home to Windsor Castle, has been identified as the UK's cheating capital, with 4.29% of its population reportedly unfaithful. The ranking, based on data from the dating site IllicitEncounters, lists 360 adultery hotspots across the country, with affluent commuter towns dominating the top ten.
According to the study, Windsor has 1,555 residents engaged in extramarital affairs. Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan ranks second, with 869 cheaters, followed by Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, Barnstaple in Devon, and Staines in Surrey. The most faithful town is Bournemouth in Hampshire, where less than 1% of the population is unfaithful.
IllicitEncounters spokesman Christian Grant attributed the trend to the high cost of divorce, which leads couples to seek discreet affairs instead of separating. “Lots of couples cannot afford to divorce due to the cost of establishing two new homes, so they are sticking with their partner and adding some spice to their marriage by discreetly having an affair,” he said.
The data, drawn from one million postcodes, highlights the prevalence of infidelity in wealthy suburban areas. Windsor, with an average house price of £574,860—more than double the national average—attracts 7.6 million visitors annually and is one of the UK's most desirable places to live.
