REVEALED: The Australian cities that have become 'cheating hot spots' - with thousands starting secret online affairs during lockdown
- Ashley Madison has revealed Australia's most unfaithful cities
- The married dating site recorded 17,000 new members a day during lockdown
- New South Wales cities Albury, Coffs Harbour and Newcastle were the top three
- Queensland led the way for online affairs, with seven cities in the top 20
- Tourist hotspots Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart and Melbourne all made the list
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
More than 17,000 Australians signed up for controversial married dating site Ashley Madison per day during lockdown, with the bulk of those subscriptions from three New South Wales cities.
The platform, which is marketed to people who are in relationships, studied the locations of new members who have joined since mid-April to determine where cheating is most rampant Down Under.
Cities in New South Wales took the top three spots, with Albury on the state's southern border in first followed by Coffs Harbour on the mid-north coast and Newcastle, two hours north of Sydney, in third.
Canberra, the country's capital, was fourth while the Western Australian port city of Bunbury, one hour south of Perth, rounded out the top five.
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The railway station in Albury, southern New South Wales, which has Australia's highest number of subscriptions to controversial married dating site Ashley Madison in the past two months
Queensland led the way for online affairs with seven cities in the top 20, including major centres like the Gold Coast and Brisbane and regional outposts like Townsville and Toowoomba.
Tourist hotspots Adelaide, Cairns, Hobart, Sydney, Perth and Melbourne all featured despite the federal travel ban on overseas visitors since March 28.
Conversations between adulterous lovers are now taking place earlier in the day, with the platform reporting a 'significant increase' in messages between 10am and 11am and midday and 3pm over the past two months.
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Top 20 cities for infidelity
- 1. Albury, NSW
- 2. Coffs Harbour, NSW
- 3. Newcastle, NSW
- 4. Canberra, ACT
- 5. Bunbury, WA
- 6. Gold Coast, QLD
- 7. Mackay, QLD
- 8. Geelong, VIC
- 9. Rockhampton, QLD
- 10. Darwin, NT
- 11. Townsville, QLD
- 12. Toowoomba, QLD
- 13. Wollongong, NSW
- 14. Adelaide, SA
- 15. Cairns, QLD
- 16. Brisbane, QLD
- 17. Hobart, TAS
- 18. Sydney, NSW
- 19. Perth, WA
- 20. Melbourne, VIC
Source: Ashley Madison
More residents of Albury, Coffs Harbour and Newcastle have signed up for married dating site Ashley Madison since April than any other place in Australia (stock image)
The website suggests people are using working hours as a cover to chat with potential affair partners.
The 17,000 daily subscription count represents an increase of 1,500 on the 15,500 new members it saw per day in 2019.
Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable said the surge in subscriptions is a sign of the extraordinary strain Australians have been under since the outbreak began.
Coffs Harbour (left) and Newcastle (right) which saw the second and third highest numbers of subscriptions to the adulterous platform
The Australian Parliament building in Canberra, which had the fourth highest subscription rate
'These cyber affairs serve as a release valve for individuals dealing with increased pressures in their marriage and domestic lives,' he said.
Mr Keable believes the website offers an opportunity to those struggling to release some of that pressure without ending their relationships prematurely.
'With divorce rates reported to have increased in countries that have initiated their reopening, we're offering an alternative pathway to help people cope and ultimately help couples preserve their marriage once the dust has settled,' he said.
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