Exclusive:
Christoph Kraemer, the European Managing Director for Ashley Madison, spoke exclusively about just why Christmas is such an unusal time for those seeking an affair
We’re at the time where many of us feel merry and bright.
But, as calendars fill with office parties and festive drinks, and the smell of mistletoe lingers, people may start worrying that their partner may be playing away. While Christmas is a time for love, it can also be a time for temptation, but there’s something about cheating that you need to know when it comes to the festive season.
Ashley Madison, the world’s leading married dating site, is famed for bringing people together who want to indulge in a sneaky affair. But, according to someone who works in the field, you may not have much to worry about over the festive season.
Christoph Kraemer, the European Managing Director for Ashley Madison, said: “Actually, the interesting thing is that the one sort of more quiet periods of the year is specifically Christmas. So December is actually the month in which we see the lowest subscription members, precisely because it is a period where people are expected to spend time with their families, and buying Christmas presents and organising Christmas dinner and all these things.
“What’s interesting though is – just following that – is one of our absolute peaks of the year. On the one hand, the first business day after New Year’s is known as Divorce Day, which is the day when solicitors receieve the most requests about how the separations to divorces happen, but then we also see one of the peak sign up days for Ashley Madison.”
During this time, the company see a leap of up to 40% of new members joining, perhaps because they realise “what they’re missing”. When people are forced to spend a lot of time with their loved ones over Christmas, Christoph said they can begin to reflect in the New Year, and this can lead to them wanting to look elsewhere for a little something extra.
If people are experiencing sexual dissatisfaction, he said they won’t always want to choose divorce. In fact, many of their members admit they really “love” their partners, but certain things are “missing” from the relationship, and this is why they choose to have an affair.
He added: “What Christmas means to people being unfaithful, or looking for a non-monogomous lifestyle, is that it’s a lot of time to spend with their partners and, actually, it’s something we saw during the pandemic as well.
“Six out of 10 people during the pandemic said that they were spending more time with their partners than ever before, but three out of four said they were having less or no sex than before the pandemic. So, I think Christmas is one of those times when you’re spending so much time with your partner that you realise maybe some shortcomings of the relationship, or things that are missing in the relationship, and so it gives you time to think.”
With work being more stressful in the New Year, he said it’s usually a better time for people to think things through. At a time where people make New Year’s Resolutions, Christoph said it’s a period where people usually stop and think about their lives, and this includes relationships.
People will start to act on things they want to change or better, so this is why there seems to be a boom in business at the start of the year. Not to mention, some may be looking for stress relief after a super busy time.
While he admits the odd festive fling can take place at company parties, he said people also realise these sort of events carry a higher risk of being caught. “That’s actually one of the reasons why Ashley Madison was started and created over 20 years ago,” he added.
“Traditionally, people have been seeking their affairs either in the workplace or in the family/friends environment, and obviously those environments do carry a risk of the affair being discovered. That’s why Ashley Madison was created.”
