According to the Office of National Statistics, of all the marriages annulled in 2005 in the UK, about 40% had cited adultery. In a staggering 75% of the cases, it was the man who strayed from the conjugal bed.

But then, extramarital affairs have been hiking among women too. On the other hand, the British Attitudes Survey reveals men have also learnt to be more forthcoming with 70% preferring to confess their affair to their wives. Remarriage rates have risen, and so have second divorces. Cohabitation has grown in popularity and has a higher divorce rate than marriage. Most couples surveyed agreed that extramarital affairs brought a traumatic phase for them, complicating it further when they had children.

Why do extramarital affairs happen? The reasons are too many to be averaged, but here are some common ones.

But a few marriages do survive. Most fall apart because their foundation was not strong enough, and the partners had drifted apart anyhow. Many couples file amicable divorces to hide an affair and also validate the fact that their union had disintegrated prior to that.

Why is it so hard to forgive infidelity? Not just marriages, but cohabitations, same-sex relations and relations in all EU nations show that extramarital affairs are not tolerated. Religions forbid it, cultures brand it. This is because an affair goes against the basic tenet of marriage ? which is a commitment between two people to exclusively stick together.

Here are a few tips to tackle an affair.