Key takeaways
- Business trips raise little suspicion
- One can pass off the costs of an affair as work expenses
- Time zones make it easier to justify being unreachable
- Low likelihood of running into someone you know abroad
- Trips can justify changes in behavior or mood
An estimated 790 million people traveled abroad in the first seven months of 2024, up 11% year-on-year. International tourist arrivals reached 96% of pre-pandemic levels between January and July. This reflects a resurgence of all kinds of trips abroad, including those that conceal infidelity.
Business is a plausible travel reason
Work trips are often considered routine and necessary, raising little suspicion. When someone travels for business, their partner may not question long hours or late-night meetings. Hiding the costs of an affair is easier; flights, meals, and activities can be written off as part of the trip.
In places known as romantic getaways, it’s easy for someone to blend leisure with work. Trips to cosmopolitan hubs like Paris or Bangkok can provide the ideal setting. Frequent trips to a company office abroad can disguise serial cheating. Infidelity is reported by 40% of unmarried couples, and unfaithful people are more likely to be unfaithful to future partners.
Another convenient excuse involves conferences or training sessions abroad. Such events can include significant free time, which people can use to meet with someone secretly.
Physical distance makes whereabouts hard to verify
Being in another country provides a literal separation from a partner or spouse, which can make it more difficult to verify one’s whereabouts or activities. The different time zones make it easier to justify being unreachable or having odd communication patterns. If it’s nighttime for their partner back home, the person abroad can use that time for covert activities without raising suspicion.
Time differences make it challenging for a partner to verify the details of a trip. For example, if someone claims they had a meeting in Tokyo’s business district, cross-checking meeting times can be next to impossible.
Foreign countries offer anonymity
The level of anonymity offered by foreign countries is difficult to achieve at home. The likelihood of running into someone who might recognize you is significantly lower. With easy access to international SIM cards and messaging apps, travelers can use different phone numbers or social media accounts.
Curated online presence
A person might manage their online presence carefully while abroad, posting photos or updates that reinforce the story they’re telling their partner. This allows them to appear transparent and open while hiding their true activities. Advanced tech users can even manipulate location-sharing apps, making it appear they are in one place when they are elsewhere. OPS Group established a 400% increase in GPS spoofing in July 2024 compared to several months earlier.
Enhanced excitement
New experiences and romantic settings can deepen the connection between the person traveling and their secret partner. It provides a sense of escape and fantasy that contrasts with the routine back home. On that note, international trips can justify changes in behavior or mood. One can attribute their emotional distance or newfound enthusiasm to their experiences on the trip, masking their romantic involvement with another person.
Can people still get caught?
Group trips abroad can be an effective cover unless someone in the group divulges the secret, whether intentionally or not. Age, gender, and marital status can also be factors. In 2024, a fifth of married men and 15% of women admit to having cheated. Infidelity rates among females have risen by 40% over the last 20 years. Women aged 26-29 are unfaithful at slightly higher rates than men of that age. Men aged 60-69 are leading in rates in 2024, and 50-59-year-old women follow.
Just 10% of women over 65 admit to being unfaithful to their partner, compared to 25% of men. Older adults tend to engage in traditional affairs, while younger people are more likely to cheat online. Emotional affairs are more common than physical ones for those aged 30-49, especially women.
Recap
- Business is a plausible travel reason
- Physical distance makes whereabouts hard to verify
- Foreign countries offer anonymity
- You can curate your online presence when abroad
- The excitement of a foreign destination deepens romantic connections
