AffairRecovery.com, a national leader in offering personalized online support for those impacted by infidelity, conducted an anonymous survey to shed light on the many challenges surrounding Valentine’s Day after an affair is discovered. In total, the survey had a sample size of 475 respondents who have personally experienced infidelity.
Purpose:
To gain a better understanding of the impact that Valentine’s Day has on individuals who have experienced infidelity. With the following survey results, AffairRecovery.com looks to provide hope and insight to improve the recovery process as it pertains to the challenges surrounding Valentine’s Day. To start healing, take the free assessment tool, the Affair Analyzer, found at www.AffairRecovery.com , which asks a series of questions and then provides the visitor with an invaluable assessment outlining a snapshot of his or her situation and recommendations for the next steps toward healing.
Key Findings
• 40% of betrayed spouses said the holiday has become meaningful or enjoyable again and that it takes an average of 2.7 years after the infidelity.
• 50% of unfaithful spouses within the first year from discovery want to start new traditions, however only 11.8% of the unfaithful spouses who are the beyond the first year actually started new traditions.
• 40.5% of those who have been betrayed within the past year feel their mate does not understand why the infidelity has caused so much pain.
• Of those who had been betrayed, 68.3% chose some sort of avoidance when it came to dealing with their first Valentine’s Day after the affair.
• 32.4% of the unfaithful spouses reported that their first Valentine’s Day was much worse than previous Valentine’s Days before the affair occurred, versus 46.3% for those who had been betrayed.
• 68% of all individuals surveyed who are approaching their first Valentine’s Day in 2012 after an affair say they will take a backseat and wait and see how to act or pretend nothing happened.
• Only 25.5% of those who are within their first year post-discovery said that triggers of the betrayal is what hurts the most about Valentine’s Day, compared to 48% for individuals who are beyond one year from discovery.
• 50% of unfaithful spouses reported being able to enjoy Valentine’s Day within three years of discovery while only 40% of those who had been betrayed enjoyed the occasion at the end of three years.
• The unfaithful spouse is far more likely to approach Valentine’s Day with fear and trepidation at 28.1% versus 16.3% of those who have been betrayed.
