Internet to blame for marriage breakdowns

One in ten people approaching marriage guidance counsellor Relate claim surfing the internet has ruined their once blissful union.

Stressed spouses are increasingly blaming online dating groups, chatrooms and porn sites for their relationship breakdowns, according to Relate.

The findings come as Relate gets ready to launch an email counselling service aimed at internet users.

While surfers seeking a little extra marital excitement are usually male, they are more likely to log on to a chat room in search of company than to peep at a porn site.

It's a problem that's set to boom, according to Relate counsellor Christine Mortham. "A huge number of people have a computer, it's something that's becoming within the realms of normality. We'll see more and more of it at Relate as a cause of relationship problems," she said.

About 40 per cent of UK homes now have internet access, and the demographics of typical internet users make them more prone to relationship breakdown, according to Mortham.

Twenty- and 30-somethings are heavy internet users, and are also the age group most likely to face life-changing decisions such as getting married, having children - or deciding that it's time to end a long-standing relationship.

For others, online love - illicit or otherwise - has blossomed into something beautiful. One of the UK's most popular sites, Friendsreunited, claims to have six million registered users and recently announced its first two marriages.

Christian Connection, a dating site for single Christians, claims to have had five weddings and ten engagements since it launched in 2000.

A spokeswoman for the site said this could be due to the strong moral fibre of its subscribers. "We're a Christian site, people have a shared faith and they have different expectations of what they want in a relationship."

Both sites have beaten ITV's Blind Date show which can take credit for just one wedding in the past 10 years