There are 3 ages your partner is most likely to cheat. Here's why.

Cheating in relationships is a scary topic. We hate to think about it, but sadly, it happens — and probably more than you realise.

Infidelity feels like a bit of a boogeyman — it's this ever-looming threat that we read about and live in fear of, and the consequences can be catastrophic.

I wish I could say we do this irrationally, but the truth is, cheating is an issue that's only becoming more prevalent. Chances are, quite a few of the people reading this have either cheated or been cheated on. If you haven't, one of your friends probably has.

According to Sexual Health Australia, 60 per cent of men and 45 per cent of women report having had an affair while being married. This is backed up by research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, which interviewed people of various cultural backgrounds and still found pretty staggering stats around the prevalence of cheating.

According to Ashley Madison — the infamous dating site for married people looking to have an affair — Australia ranks sixth in the world in terms of infidelity.

Why do people cheat in relationships?

While it's probably impossible to know if someone will cheat or not, it does beg the question: why do people do it? Just break up, right?

It turns out it's not that simple. The truth is, there are a myriad of factors that can lead to cheating, but the good news is, you don't have to go in blind.

"It's quite difficult to predict with any clear accuracy what will lead to cheating or what will lead to infidelity, but there are characteristics and other factors that we know that research tells us might indicate vulnerabilities," Carly Dober, a psychologist at Enriching Lives Psychology, told Mamamia.

People cheat for a variety of reasons, from feeling neglected to simple access and opportinity. Images: HBO, Fox.

There are several factors that can lead to infidelity in a relationship, but it's important to note that these don't necessarily cause or justify cheating. At the end of the day, it's a choice — but one that can perhaps be spurred because of certain circumstances. Some psychological reasons for cheating in relationships include:

These factors, paired with other influences like hardship at work and a comforting coworker, commitment issues, or differences in what people want in a relationship, can possibly lead to infidelity.

There are also other cheating risk factors that unfortunately can't be helped much, like milestones.

Is there a particular age that people are most likely to cheat at?

Maybe you've seen Albert Arnaiz — the self-titled "infidelity coach" from Barcelona — claim that affairs are most likely to happen when the cheater is 29, 39, or 49.

This news made for some sensationalised headlines, but Dober says she's not aware of any data that actually backs up this claim (and I couldn't find any myself, either. Curious).

In fact, cheating is pretty common across ages and gender, though some stats suggest men cheat more. Dober cautions that this may be true, but we should also consider that we tend to normalise men cheating and stigmatise women who do it — meaning women cheating is less talked about and reported, and so the stats might not be super accurate.

What we do have data on, though, is the impact that certain life milestones may have on relationship satisfaction. Interestingly, those life milestones could line up with the ages Arnaiz presented.

The milestones that cheating is most likely to occur at.

Experiencing big milestones in your relationship is exciting — but for some people, it can add pressure.

"We know that, if we're thinking about long term heterosexual relationships, there can be different phases in the relationship," Dober told Mamamia.

Moving out of the honeymoon period is not a bad thing, and it's normal. But some people assume there is something wrong with the relationship or that it is over, leading to them looking for that spark elsewhere.

No longer spending quality time talking, sharing news together or enjoying each other's company can be a sign that things are amiss. Image: Canva.

Other milestones like moving in together can also effect a relationship. For example, if you have to navigate your shared workload and chores, it can become harder to maintain and nurture a romantic relationship.

"And then for those who want to get married or have children and become parents, if you're going to further change, you're adding more stress and tasks to the relationship, which can all be very exciting and wanted, but it still does impact the primary relationship, especially if there are any communication difficulties, or resentments from historical harms or arguments."

Again, it goes without saying that these life milestones don't cause cheating — none of them are inherently negative, or even anything to be anxious about. It's more that sometimes we aren't ready for the changes these milestones have on our relationships.

It's not a matter of avoiding these milestones to avoid cheating. Instead, look at the foundation your relationship is built on. Are you and your partner are committed to one another? Do you have a healthy communication style? Are your needs are being met? These are also factors that will contribute to how your relationship fares through life's inevitable milestones.

Signs that your partner may be cheating.

While we can't truly know whether a partner will cheat on us, there are signs we can watch out for that might indicate infidelity. Here are some red flags that Dober noted can indicate cheating:

It's important to note that a lot of these things can just happen. It's normal for sex drives, friends or hobbies to change. In isolation, they're not that suss — but if you're noticing patterns and the symptoms overlap, this could indicate that something isn't right.

Feature image: Getty.