"The Zoosk survey found a level of agreement across cultures about the desire to be in a monogamous relationship or the difficulty of forgiving a partner for cheating," said Alex Mehr, co-founder and co-CEO of Zoosk. "It is particularly fascinating to us to see which issues singles around the world do not see eye to eye on, such as whether it matters if a politician has been faithful to his or her partner or how optimistic singles are that a cheater can be reformed."
53% of U.S. singles say it would influence their vote to learn that a politician had cheated on his or her partner. Women (57%) care more than men (50%).
Singles in other countries, however, aren't so concerned about the private lives of their leaders. In every other country surveyed, the majority of singles say it would not influence their vote to learn a political candidate was a philanderer.
The French are the least interested in their politicians' private lives; 80% of singles in France don't care if a politician strays compared to 78% of singles in Denmark, 71% of singles in Sweden, 70% of singles in Italy, 68% of singles in Germany, and 56% of singles in the UK and Australia.
While many monogamous couples joke about having a "free pass" to hook up with a celebrity crush, in reality, 80% of U.S. singles say if given the opportunity, they would not cheat on a partner to have a one-night stand with a celebrity.
Most singles around the world, however, share the American viewpoint: 83% of singles in Denmark, 80% of singles in the UK and Sweden, 79% of singles in Australia and 77% of singles in France and Germany say they would not cheat on a partner to hook up with a celebrity.
When presented with a list of notorious cheaters, singles in the U.S., UK, Australia, Sweden, Germany and Denmark agree that Tiger Woods is the "worst offender."
15% of German singles, 11% of French singles, 9% of Australian singles, 8% of Danish singles, 7% of U.S. singles and 6% of Swedish and British singles prefer an open relationship to monogamy.
Singles around the globe agree it is not easy to forgive a partner for cheating. On average, 28% of singles in the seven countries surveyed say they could forgive, while 72% say "no way."
The majority of singles in the U.S. (55%), Sweden (55%), France (57%), Denmark (56%) and Germany (53%) say they believe a cheater can change and is capable of having a monogamous relationship after an affair.
The Zoosk poll was conducted online in May 2011 and fielded 12,737 responses from singles around the world who use Zoosk. Respondents included 5,354 singles who live in the United States; 1,622 who reside in the UK; 1,296 from Italy; 1,027 from Germany; 1,144 from France; 1,000 from Denmark; 759 from Australia and 544 from Sweden.
Zoosk is one of the world's most popular social dating communities, with millions of singles from around the globe using the service each month. Zoosk provides a safe and fun online dating experience that users can easily access from Zoosk's website, social networking applications, mobile services, and downloadable desktop application. Zoosk is available in 25 languages and has subscribers in more than 60 countries. The service enables users to join, browse, and send a limited number of messages for free. Zoosk users can upgrade to a premium subscription for full access or purchase virtual currency to buy select features and virtual gifts. Founded in 2007 by Shayan Zadeh and Alex Mehr, the company is based in San Francisco and backed by Zoosk is the world's largest social dating community Canaan Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, and ATA Ventures.
