Hundreds of women have taken to Reddit to reveal the real reasons they cheated on their partners.

Some said they strayed because they felt ignored or stifled while others said they realised they preferred multiple lovers.

A report by Sexual Health Australia revealed affairs were common, with data showing 60 per cent of men and 45 per cent of women having strayed outside their primary relationships.

FEMAIL selected five stories which outlined the main justifications women gave for their infidelities - and what resulted from their decisions.

Women have taken to the online forum Reddit to reveal what drove them to cheat on their partners (stock image)

'Suffocating behaviour'

One woman who took to online forum explained the reason she cheated on her partner was because of his 'suffocating' behaviour.

She said her 'crazy boyfriend' was determined to control her every movement and he seemed obsessed with what she was doing or where she was '24/7'.

'He would spam call me and "like" comments/photos/etc on Facebook and message my friend,' she said.

She revealed his 'controlling, psycho mind game attitude' basically 'drove' her to cheat.

'I was a chronic cheater'

Another woman speaking on the thread revealed she was a 'chronic cheater.

She said she was not driven to be unfaithful per se, but had not discovered a 'model' for how to have polyamorous relationships.

'Once I discovered the polyamory model and began to live it, all of my cheating stopped,' said woman.

'He paid attention to me'

A third revealed how feeling ignored by her partner, after the 'honeymoon phase wore off', drove her to the arms of another.

While said she while had not actively been looking to meet someone else, she hit it off with a man she met online who she was buying furniture from.

'The thing is, even after that first time, I kept wanting to see him. He paid attention to me and even cooked me dinner and set up a candlelit bath for us,' she said.

The woman said although she attempted to keep up the 'charade' once her partner returned from business, being a terrible actor meant she eventually caved and told him she had been unfaithful.

One woman revealed she cheated because she realised she preferred a 'polyamorous' relationship model (stock image)

'I needed to explore'

One woman shared how she cheated on her partner because she had met him when she was far too young and the relationship had been too serious.

'For me personally, I needed to go out and explore myself sexually and even in different relationship dynamics,' she wrote.

She said cheating gave her an 'easy way out' as at the time she wasn't prepared to end the relationship.

'It was a confusing time in my adult life as he was my best friend and we had no real issues,' she said.

What are some of the reasons people cheat? The most common reason for infidelity cited by women was emotional satisfaction, while men cited sexual satisfaction. Affluent women were 8 per cent more likely to be unfaithful to their husbands than middle class wives, while the prevalence of infidelity for poor and rich men was equal. People who were unfaithful in one relationship were three times more likely to be unfaithful in their next relationship, compared to those who had not been unfaithful in the first one. Source: Relationships Australia Advertisement

'I suffered from "what if"'

Lastly, one revealed cheating on her partner was simply a matter of putting paid to the question of 'what if'.

Contrary to others sharing on the thread, the woman said she was not only happy in her relationship, she was 'in love'.

'But for some reason, I had a nagging thought of "what if" I had been with this other guy?' She said.

Eventually, her curiosity got the better of her and she said in a 'weak moment' the pair got together.

'Frankly, the sex wasn’t that great, probably because the whole situation felt wrong to me. I regretted it immediately, and felt horribly guilty.'