Sunny weather triggers a massive spike in cheating, experts warn

The UK is expected to record more scorching temperatures over the next few days.

And Brits are likely to get hot and bothered in more ways than one, experts have warned.

Data reveals that rising temperatures send affair website sign-ups soaring, with a 58 per cent increase during the last heatwave.

The biggest spike is among 35 to 44-year-olds, with women making up the majority of new members.

And experts said ‘sundrunk’ Brits lose inhibitions in hot weather, entering a holiday mindset even when at home.

Jessica Leoni, sex and relationship expert for website IllicitEncounters.com, said: ‘When the sun blazes, so do passions.

‘We see this with every heatwave – the hotter it gets, the more people seek excitement outside their relationships.

‘Extreme heat essentially rewires our impulses.’

She pointed to a dangerous cocktail of hormonal surges, lowered inhibitions and ‘heatwave hedonism’ that drives otherwise loyal partners to stray.

Last week temperatures reached a scorching 34.7 °C in St James’s Park in central London – marking the hottest day of the year so far.

A poll of 1,000 new website members found that two-thirds said the heat made them ‘more impulsive’.

Meanwhile 55 per cent admitted they’d been considering an affair for some time but the soaring temperatures gave them the ‘final push’.

‘The sunshine strips away inhibition,’ Ms Leoni added.

‘It’s like the British public have collectively entered their holiday persona – even if they’re not abroad.

‘We call it “sundrunk”.

‘You’re not drinking rosé on the Med, but you’re mentally already there.’

It comes as an amber health alert has been issued for the south of England while a second hosepipe ban is set to hit one million Brits.

The mercury is expected to rocket to 32C today in parts of central and southern England on Friday with the East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East and South West under amber alert.

Earlier research has found that the chances of infidelity are ‘significantly higher’ among more powerful people.

People who feel more powerful are less dependent on others, think more highly of themselves, and are more confident that others find them desirable, according to researchers from Reichman University.

‘In a romantic relationship, these power dynamics might lead the more powerful partner to think they bring more to the table than their less powerful partner,’ said Professor Gurit Birnbaum, lead author of the study.

‘The more powerful might see this as a sign that they have more options outside the relationship and are more desirable partners in general.’

ARE MEN WITH SHORT AND WIDE FACES MORE LIKELY TO CHEAT?

Researchers from Nipissing University in Canada looked at how different facial features affect sexual behaviours.

The study involved 314 undergraduate students who were in romantic relationships.

Each student completed a questionnaire about their behaviour, sex drive, sexual orientation, the chances they’d consider cheating, and how comfortable they were with the concept of casual sex.

The researchers also took a picture of each student to analyse their facial width-to-height ratios (FWHR).

The results showed that men and women with a high FWHR – square and wide faces – reported a greater sex drive than others.

Men with a larger FWHR were also more easy-going when it comes to casual sex and would consider being unfaithful to their partners.

The researchers hope the findings will shed light on the role that facial features play in sexual relationships and mate selection.

Their research builds upon previous studies that have shown that certain psychological and behavioural traits are associated with particular facial width-to-height ratios (FWHR).

Square-faced men tend to be perceived as more aggressive, more dominant, more unethical, and more attractive as short-term sexual partners than men with thinner and longer faces.