New research suggests women are more likely to cheat than men in a relationship

It's time to forget everything you thought about men, women, and cheating in relationships.

While the common school of thought is that men tend to stray first, a wealth of new research indicates that women may struggle more than men with monogamy.

Anthropologist and author of Untrue, Wednesday Martin, said the latest research on female libido indicates that, contrary to popular belief, the female sex drive is alive and well and wants more.

"The new research is correcting false notions that women have lesser libidos, that women are more naturally monogamous and that it’s easier for women to partner for life," she said as per news.com.au. 

"Women don’t like sex less [than men] - but they do get bored of sexual sameness."

Yuri Arcurs / Alamy

For her book on female infidelity, Martin interviewed dozens of sociologists, sex researchers and anthropologists to get to the bottom of the feminine sex drive.

Martin found that men may experience higher levels of spontaneous desire but women take the lead when it comes to responding to what is called 'triggered desire'.

"Spontaneous desire is when you suddenly think, 'it would be nice to have sex'. It comes over you like hunger or thirst," Martin explained, as per Body and Soul.

"Responsive or triggered desire occurs when something suggests the idea of sex to you — you’re watching or reading something, or a partner initiates a sexual encounter — and you get turned on.

"For that type of desire, women’s libidos are every bit as strong as men’s."

She added: "We’ve internalised this idea that men are the randier sex and that’s untrue."

Research by Missouri State University looked at women using the Ashley Madison website to cheat on their partners.

DCPhoto / Alamy

It threw out the notion that women cheat only when they are unhappy in their relationships and seek an emotional connection instead of sexual gratification.

"The women studied went on the site, created a profile, vetted candidates, met them in person and 'auditioned' them. This was a very intentional process," Martin said.

"They wanted to find partners for sex.

She added, as per Body and Soul: "They reported being in sexless or orgasm-less marriages and they simply wanted what they couldn’t get at home... these affairs were a way for them to remain in their primary relationships."

A study at the University of Nevada found that the 'institutionalisation' of monogamy puts a dampener on women’s sexual desire more than it does for men.

"Now sex researchers are entertaining the possibility that women simply need variety and novelty of sexual experience more than men do," Martin said, as per news.com.au.