Cheshire town beloved by Manchester footballers named among Britain’s cheating capitals in infidelity rankings

Cheshire’s affluent Wilmslow has been named one of the most unfaithful places in Britain, according to new data ranking towns by the number of people having affairs.

Often dubbed part of the ‘footballer belt’, Wilmslow ranked second nationally, with 6.23% of the population said to have engaged in an affair over the past year — placing it just behind Berkshire’s Ascot, which topped the list at 6.72%.

The findings come from IllicitEncounters.com, the UK’s leading adultery dating website, and suggest wealth, disposable income and social lifestyles play a major role in infidelity across Britain’s most prosperous towns.

Can a relationship survive cheating? Relationship expert Alex Mellor-Brook answers one of the most common questions he's asked. Stock image by Adobe Photos.placeholder image
Can a relationship survive cheating? Relationship expert Alex Mellor-Brook answers one of the most common questions he's asked. Stock image by Adobe Photos. | Photodrive - stock.adobe.com

While Ascot ultimately claimed the unwanted crown as Britain’s so-called ‘cheating capital’, Wilmslow’s high ranking puts it firmly in the national spotlight, ahead of Chelsea, Kensington and even the Scottish Highlands town of Alness, which placed third.

Ascot’s reputation is closely linked to its racing culture, with locals claiming infidelity peaks during Royal Ascot, which attracts more than 250,000 racegoers each June. Residents there say the combination of money, glamour and socialising fuels bad behaviour.

With Wilmslow ranking just behind Ascot, the data suggests Cheshire’s most exclusive town shares many of the same pressures — wealth, status and fast-paced lifestyles — that appear to be driving infidelity across Britain’s richest communities.

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