More married folk dating

THE UK’S leading dating website for married people has claimed a huge increase in membership in Shetland.

Illicit Encounters – illicitencounters.com – claims to have 202 members in the isles, an increase of 20 per cent over the past year.

Spokeswoman Rosie Freeman-Jones believes that Shetland reflects a national trend, which has seen people stuck inside unhappy marriages because times are getting tougher and they can not afford to separate.

“There are a large number of our members who would like to divorce their other half but just can’t raise the funds to do so,” she said.

“We’ve seen a dramatic rise in membership in the Shetland Islands to our site over the last year as the recession has forced people to stay in marriages they would rather get out of.”

The website has gathered statistics suggesting that 38 per cent of its Shetland members felt the stress of relocating in the current climate had affected their decision to stay married to their partner, while 42 per cent were put off by the cost of a divorce.

A survey showed that more than 80 married couples in Shetland would like to get a divorce but could not afford to because of the recession.