OKAY, so I’ve just spent the past hour deciding whether or not I’ll write about the subject I wanted to write about today. I’ve even started writing three or four times, but each time I’ve ended up deleting what I’ve written, thinking ‘Will I look a fool for never having heard of this’? So, before I chicken out, here goes nothing.

The other day I discovered a business, no, make that an entire industry that I had never even heard of, and my reaction when reading about it was a mix of astonishment, followed by an incredibly judgmental comment or two.

Not far behind that was a very loud ‘how in the world can people do this’?

Mid-way through my protestations, pretty much every person sitting within a few feet of me piped up with some exclamation of horror.

Not about the same thing I was upset about, more about the fact that I appear to be the only person on the planet that has not heard of ‘have an affair’ websites.

There aren’t many things in this world that surprise me (being 39), but am I the only person who hasn’t heard of this industry?

On the off-chance I’m not the only person in the dark, these aren’t your regular run of the mill ‘meet a stranger, go on a date, fall in love, and all you have to do is hand over two months’ wages to register’ type of websites.

These are websites purely designed for either:

(a) married people to find someone to have an affair with; or

(b) single people to find someone who is married to have a dalliance with (Note: I thought the use of the word dalliance would make this all seem far less seedy. I don’t think it worked).

I’m not a prude in any sense of the word, nor am I an angel, but when I see phrases like ‘thousands of online married members are waiting for you now’, ‘we’ve got more cheaters than anyone else’ or ‘this is a great site for a married affair with no strings attached’, that piece of my heart that believes in finding that one true love, and staying together ‘until death do us part’ dies just a little.

From what I can see, there are a lot of incredibly beautiful people ‘looking for fun’ on these websites, and it must be sheer coincidence that all of their photos were taken on very hot days, accounting for how scantily clad most of them are.

Most amusing though is that they all make grand claims like ‘Click here to have an affair. Life’s too short not to’, or my favourite, ‘Click here for the best way to escape your loveless marriage’.

I didn’t bother clicking anywhere, but I can only hope it takes anyone who does straight to a divorce lawyer’s website, because when you think about it, that’s where people trawling these horrendous websites really should be looking.