## Introduction
Extramarital affairs still play a big part in how people in Brazil see relationships. Things like how people feel about cheating, changes in the law, and things from outside like the COVID-19 pandemic all have a role in this. Surveys done from 2020 to 2025 show different cheating rates in the country. How much people accept it can change depending on if you are a man or woman, and also where you live. This report looks into the main numbers and trends, looks at divorce rates tied to cheating, effects of the pandemic, and what social and cultural things help shape how often these affairs happen.
## Infidelity Statistics
Surveys taken from 2020 to 2025 show that cheating rates in Brazil are between 23% and 57%. The number changes based on how each survey was done and who took part in it. A Statista survey in 2023 asked 1,000 people in Brazil, ages 18 to 75. In this group, 23% said they had cheated on their partners when in a committed relationship. A report from 2022 showed that 35% of married people in Brazil admitted to cheating at some point. A different survey from 2020 found the number even higher, at 57%. Most people in this group said dating apps were the main way they cheated. In data from 2024, 38% of married men in Brazil said they have cheated. These numbers are based on what people say, so the real number could be even higher, because many may not feel comfortable to tell the truth about what they do.
## Divorce Trends
Divorce rates in Brazil changed between 2020 and 2025 because of rules and the covid crisis. In 2020, total divorces dropped by 13.6%. There were 331,200 divorces at a rate of 1.4 for every 1,000 people. This happened because courts were slow due to social distancing.
Notary divorces reached their highest number in 2021. There were 80,573, which is up 4% from the 77,509 in 2020. This rise was because digital platforms made the process easier. From 2022 to 2025, the divorce rate stayed steady at about 1.4 per 1,000. Almost half of these divorces were for marriages shorter than 10 years.
Most divorces were started by women, at age 40 on average. Men ended their marriages at an average age of 43. Cheating is common but not counted, since Brazil's rules since 2010 focus on whether couples get along, not why they split up.
## COVID-19 Impact
The pandemic made many relationships harder. More people kept secrets like cheating, but you did not see it right away because divorces were put off. Staying apart caused couples to fight more about sex, doing chores, and spending time with each other. In April 2020, reports of violence in the home went up by 37.6%. More cases of partners hurting each other showed up. This was linked to people feeling bad inside. A study of women in Brazil in 2024 said this was true with their mental health too.
In 2020, fewer people got divorced. The reason was things like rules and office closings that slowed down the process. Even then, more people may have cheated on their partners because they felt alone and spent more time online. A review from 2023 showed that couples in bad marriages did not stay together as long as before. The average time before divorce was 15.9 years in 2010. In 2020, it dropped to just 13.3 years. This means marriages broke down faster.
## Cultural and Legal Aspects
Brazil's culture has a double standard about cheating. Some people think it is normal for men to cheat, but not for women. This comes from old ideas about men, that are still here today. A long time ago, there were laws that said men could hurt wives who cheated. These laws were ended in 2005, but some old thinking stays around. In 2005, cheating stopped being called a crime. Now, cheating mostly matters for things like divorce.
People cheat for many reasons. Some people feel curious. Some want to get even. Others feel unhappy with their sex life. Men often say they feel pushed or tempted. Women often feel like their partners stop paying attention to them. A lot of cheating happens online now, with apps and websites being used between 2020 and 2025. There is not much data about how much people use these in Brazil. Cheating happens more in busy cities up North, and less in the South where the mindset is more strict.
## Regional and Gender Variations
Cities like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro see more cases where people cheat because it is easy to stay unknown. In smaller towns, people care about their family's good name. Men cheat for sex more often than women do. Numbers from around the world, counting Brazil too, say that about 45% of men cheat. Women tend to cheat for love or feelings. People under forty are cheating more now, and this goes up every year. A big reason for this rise is that more people use the internet, apps, and their phones.
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