--- title: Survey on cheating among married people with kids description: Having kids makes people want to stray and social networks help them canonical: https://time.com/2998792/satisfaction-monogamish-infidelity-married/ author: Belinda Luscombe article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-17T13:00:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:55:40.518Z og:title: Are you 'monogamish? A new survey says lots of couples are og:description: Having kids makes people want to stray and social networks help them og:url: https://time.com/2998792/satisfaction-monogamish-infidelity-married/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb5d382d4b9216ac/69869bd6cd804dad41ccbefe/nup_159273_2424.jpg?branch=production&width=900&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 900 og:image:height: 506 og:image:alt: Satisfaction - Pilot og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Are you 'monogamish? A new survey says lots of couples are twitter:description: Having kids makes people want to stray and social networks help them twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb5d382d4b9216ac/69869bd6cd804dad41ccbefe/nup_159273_2424.jpg?branch=production&width=900&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Are You 'Monogamish'? A New Survey Says Lots of Couples Are > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Worth Your Time: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Worth Your Time is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more. Worth Your Time is a curated guide to the culture worth knowing, from the biggest conversations of the moment to the books, shows, ideas and discoveries worth your attention. 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It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters.  by [Belinda Luscombe](https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Editor at Large Jul 17, 2014 1:00 PM UTC  SATISFACTION -- "Pilot" -- Pictured: (l-r) Stephanie Szostak as Grace Truman, Matt Passmore as Neil Truman -- (Photo by: Guy D'Alema/USA Network) SATISFACTION -- "Pilot" -- Pictured: (l-r) Stephanie Szostak as Grace Truman, Matt Passmore as Neil Truman -- (Photo by: Guy D'Alema/USA Network) Guy D'Alema/USA Network  by [Belinda Luscombe](https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Editor at Large Jul 17, 2014 1:00 PM UTC Perhaps because the premise of its new original drama series about a cheating married couple, [_Satisfaction_](http://time.com/2989014/review-fx-married-usa-satisfaction/), is not depressing enough for couples, the USA Network conducted a survey on cheating and marital satisfaction among Gen X and Y. Some of the survey’s findings are not surprising. The arrival of children and the subsequent triangulation of the relationship and lack of bandwidth, time, money and energy makes a couple far more susceptible to the desire to stray. And the rise of the social networks make such straying much easier: easier to start, easier to arrange and easier to hide. (It may make it a little harder to end quietly though, especially if one of the parties feels aggrieved.) Some other findings are a little more unexpected, however. For the vast majority of folks 18 to 49 years old, at least in Austin, Omaha, Nashville and Phoenix, where this study took place, cheating is an absolute dealbreaker. A full 94% of respondents would rather never marry than end up with a person they knew would cheat and 82% of them have “zero tolerance” for infidelity. Yet 81% of people admitted they’d cheat if they knew there wouldn’t be any consequences and 42% of the survey takers, in equal parts men and women, admitted to already having cheated. If people must seek out some strange, the participants in USA’s survey suggest they _really_ take it elsewhere; 81% believe it’s better to cheat with a stranger than a friend. Why would it ever be O.K. to betray a spouse? More than half of the respondents (54%) believe cheating could be justified, particularly if the other party had already cheated first. Presumably, many of those were also in the group that already cheated. The idea that monogamy “is a social expectation but not a biological reality,” as the survey put it, was true for more than half of all the Gen X and Y respondents. (The survey apparently didn’t ask if it was neither of those, but a learned skill, like, say, reading, gymnastics or coding.) But somewhat surprisingly, only one in five men preferred the idea of what could be called a “monogamish” relationship—where people are _mostly_ faithful—over a monogamous one. In other findings, the study—which, as an opt-in internet survey of only 1000 people has not been peer reviewed, lacks rigor and should not be used to make life decisions—also uncovered these nuggets: \*More than 40% of men 25 to 34 have discussed having a three way with their significant other. (No details, alas, on how these suggestions were received…) \*Almost three quarters of the GenX and Ys questioned think a few more hoops to jump through before people get married wouldn’t hurt, including living together for at least a year beforehand (35%), being required to finish high school (24%) and genetic testing if the couple wants kids (9%). \*Should that not prove to be enough, that’s O.K. More than half of the survey participants think a marriage that doesn’t have to last forever to be considered successful. \*And finally, in a sign that no celebrity behavior goes unnoticed, the Paltrow Martin style of split is getting some traction: a third of the survey takers say they’d rather “uncouple” than divorce. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2998792/satisfaction-monogamish-infidelity-married/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2998792/satisfaction-monogamish-infidelity-married/"},"headline":"Are You 'Monogamish'? 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