40% Mumbai couples seeking extra-marital affairs

An increasing number of couples are looking for love outside their homes, a study has found.
Done by a city psychiatrist, the study reveals that 40% of the 500 people surveyed were involved in extramarital relationships. They cited reasons such as lack of love and attention from their spouse because of their hectic lifestyle and stress.

Dr Sanjoy Mukerji, a psychiatrist practising in the western suburbs, said, “The couples had complained of depression, stress, marital problems and misunderstandings. We counselled them on their relationship and gave them a questionnaire to be filled in the yes-or-no format.”

Talking about the research findings, Mukerji said of the 40% found to be involved in extramarital affairs, 28% were men and 12% women. “While 40% said they were in an extramarital relationship because they were craving for a change, 35% said it was because of sexual incompatibility with spouse and 15% said it was because of stress. Some were pressured to get married to someone they didn’t love and that resulted in them seeking love elsewhere. Some said they did it to pass time when they were alone or away from their spouse,” Mukerji said.

Dr Parul Tank, head of the psychiatry department at Rajawadi hospital and consultant psychiatrist at Fortis hospital, said, “There is definitely a rise in the number of couples in city going for extramarital affairs. This week itself, I have got three couples with marital problems and they all have admitted to succumbing to extramarital affairs.”

Tank added that it has been seen that couples are not ready to adjust. “People’s tolerance level has come down. Couples are not ready to adjust and complain of missing emotional connect. In-laws are still the number one reason for stress, followed by finances and sexual issues,” Tank said.

Dr Rajan Bhonsle, professor and head of the department of sexual medicine, KEM hospital, said that compared with the previous generation, extramarital cases have gone up. “The number has almost doubled in the last decade. There are multiple factors behind this but most common is an unhappy relationship. People tend to look for happiness outside the relationship. It is also observed that cases of women having extramarital affairs have doubled in the last decade,” said Bhonsle.