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When you see the words “summer holiday competition” you’d be forgiven for thinking you might win a beach break with a loved one, or some family time abroad. But the shock reality is that the prize on offer is a divorce.
The outrageous competition has been launched by a controversial online dating agency, which enables married men and women to meet and have affairs. Promoted on their homepage, it offers to help “married couples facing the life sentence of a marriage” by giving £1000 towards their divorce costs.
A spokesperson tells Closer online: “Some people can’t afford to pay divorce costs. We all live for longer now – why should you stay married to the same person for life? It’s impossible to stay with someone for 70 years.”
The site, AffairsDating.net, started three years ago and helps men and women to set up cheating encounters. Condemned as ‘disgusting’ by critics, it claims to have over nine million users and promises that adultery is “guaranteed”. When they join, members are encouraged to fill out a form giving their sexual preferences in mind-boggling detail, including their favourite positions and whether they practice safe sex.
Websites specifically aimed at helping married men and women to have affairs have been criticised for contributing towards a ‘social breakdown’, but have nevertheless seen a shocking rise in popularity over the last few years. Surveys in the UK suggest that 25-70% of married women have been unfaithful and, depressingly, AffairsDating.net claims to be most popular amongst 20 somethings, who have been married for less than three years.
Shockingly, the divorce prize is offered up as a “summer holiday competition”, just at a time when many families are jetting abroad to spend time quality time together.
Relate counsellor Christine Northam says: “Affairs can be painful and destructive, and some relationships never recover. Our advice would be to seek help for a relationship if people aren’t happy, rather than considering an affair as a solution.”