Seemingly innocent behaviors that count as cheating in romantic relationships: survey

Nypost · 🇺🇸 public United States · Aug 18, 2026 · 936 words · By SWNS

Psychology of Breakups Relationship Infidelity Generational Behavioral Differences

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What to know about Psychology of Breakups

Seemingly innocent behaviors that count as cheating in romantic relationships: survey See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 17

Techniques found 1

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center67%

Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Seemingly innocent behaviors that count as cheating in romantic relationships: survey See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on Google One in seven Americans (15%) who are married or in a relationship admit they have romantic feelings for someone who isn’t their partner, according to new research.

Common ground

The survey of 2,000 Americans revealed that Gen Z Americans were the most likely generation to be smitten with a person outside their relationship (31%), with millennials close behind (21%).

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Psychology of Breakups story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Six percent of those polled also admit to keeping someone in their phone under a fake name?
How does this story connect Psychology of Breakups with Relationship Infidelity over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/08/18/lifestyle/seemingly-innocent-behaviors-that-count-…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 17 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 7

help Insufficient Evidence 3

info Single Source 3

check_circle Corroborated 2

verified Verified 1

verified Verified By Reference 1

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Claim 1: “Six percent of those polled also admit to keeping someone in their phone under a fake name”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 2: “Talker Research surveyed 2,000 general population Americans; the survey was administered and conducted online by Talker Research between July 1 and July 6, 2026.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 3: “27% agreeing on a “Close Friends” Instagram list that doesn’t include their current partner.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 4: “deleting messages so your partner doesn’t see them (36%)”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support the 36% statistic regarding deleting messages.

info

Claim 5: “Maintaining a dating app profile “just to look” or for validation (37%) was also top-ranked”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence discusses dating apps in 2026 and validation in general, but does not contain the specific 37% statistic regarding dating app profiles as cheating.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Men walking away from women may no longer feel obligated to continue providing attention, financial assistance, emotional reassurance, validation, or constant availability after deciding a relationshi…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogvurOtgr-Y

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Among 1,600 dating app users surveyed for this article, all reported high prevalence of bots and spam across all the sites and apps. These findings suggest individuals using dating platforms should be…
https://www.forbes.com/health/dating/best-online-dating-webs…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Amp up your dating app profile and watch those matches come flowing in. Current users and dating app experts spill the tea on how to build an irresistible dating app profile.
https://thehoneycombers.com/singapore/dating-app-profile-tip…

verified

Claim 6: “Conducted by Talker Research, the survey delved deeper into relationships and probed Americans on what is officially considered cheating in 2026.”

VERIFIED

Multiple web search results confirm that Talker Research conducted a survey of 2,000 Americans between July 1 and July 6, 2026, regarding infidelity and cheating.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Choctaw code talkers were a group of Choctaw Indians from Oklahoma who pioneered the use of Native American languages as military code during World War I. The government of the Choctaw Nation main…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choctaw_code_talkers

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — A late talker is a toddler experiencing late language emergence (LLE), which can also be an early or secondary sign of an autism spectrum disorder, or other neurodevelopmental disorders such as fetal …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_talker

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Windtalkers is a 2002 American war film directed and co-produced by John Woo, starring Nicolas Cage and Adam Beach, with Peter Stormare, Noah Emmerich, Mark Ruffalo, and Christian Slater in supporting…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windtalkers

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 7: “Another eight percent have had a secret friendship their partner didn’t know about”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 8: “secretly keeping in touch with an ex (36%)”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support the 36% statistic regarding keeping in touch with an ex.

schedule

Claim 9: “eight percent have secretly met up with someone one-on-one.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 10: “Having a “work spouse” is also considered a fatal relationship breach for 33% of Americans”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support the 33% statistic regarding 'work spouses'.

schedule

Claim 11: “another eight percent have even kept ongoing flirtatious text conversations going with someone else.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 12: “Men surveyed were also more likely to admit this, with 19% saying they’ve got their eyes on a third party, compared to just 12% of women.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific breakdown of 19% for men and 12% for women is mentioned in one web search result snippet associated with the Talker Research findings, but not independently corroborated by a second distinct source.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — 12 Angry Men is a 1957 American legal drama film directed by Sidney Lumet in his feature directorial debut, adapted by Reginald Rose from his 1954 teleplay. A critique of the American jury system duri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_Angry_Men

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 2022 in sports describes the year's events in world sports. The main events for this year were the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the UEFA Women's Eur…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_in_sports

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_I

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 13: “One in seven Americans (15%) who are married or in a relationship admit they have romantic feelings for someone who isn’t their partner, according to new research.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that 1 in 7 Americans (15%) admit to having feelings for someone other than their partner, specifically citing Talker Research and YouGov polling.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — African Americans or Black Americans, also formerly called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group. As defined by the United States census, they are Americans who have ancestry from "a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States. U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with race or ethnicity, but rather with citizenship. The U.S. has 37 ancestry groups with mo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Americans is an American period spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg for FX. It aired for six seasons from January 30, 2013, to May 30, 2018. Weisberg and Joel Fields also served as…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Americans

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 14: “keeping someone in your phone under a fake name (37%)”

SINGLE SOURCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support the 37% statistic regarding fake names in phone contacts.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — YouTube does not allow unauthorized impersonation of a person, entity, or channel that may mislead viewers in a way that could harm the YouTube community. Impersonation may include deceptively copying…
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2802002?hl=en

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Official YouTube Help Center where you can find tips and tutorials on using YouTube and other answers to frequently asked questions.
https://support.google.com/youtube/?hl=en

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — YouTube Creator Awards are our way of recognizing the extraordinary effort creators put into their growing channels and to build thriving communities, responsibly. To be eligible for a Creator Award, …
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/7682560?hl=en

verified

Claim 15: “For 41% of Americans polled, keeping an ongoing flirtatious text conversation going with someone other than your partner is considered an unfaithful act.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While the survey by Talker Research is verified, the specific statistic regarding 41% for flirtatious texting was not present in the provided evidence snippets.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 16: “Gen Z Americans were the most likely generation to be smitten with a person outside their relationship (31%), with millennials close behind (21%).”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web search results explicitly state that Gen Z (31%) and Millennials (21%) are the most likely to be smitten with someone else, attributing this to Talker Research.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Generation Beta, often shortened to Gen Beta, is the proposed name for the demographic cohort succeeding Generation Alpha. The name was coined by futurist and demographer Mark McCrindle, who also coin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Beta

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth year…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennials

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Zillennials, occasionally called Zennials, are a social cohort encompassing people born on the cusp of or during the later years of the Millennial generation and the early years of Generation Z. Sourc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zillennials

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 17: “one in ten Americans admit they’re guilty of deleting messages so their partner doesn’t see”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.