New Delhi, India – In a surprising twist that challenges conventional perceptions of infidelity in India, a new report from Ashley Madison – the global dating app for married individuals seeking extramarital affairs – has named Kanchipuram, a small town in Tamil Nadu known for its silks and temples, as India’s “cheating capital.” The June 2025 data reveals a remarkable shift, with several smaller towns and tier-2 cities exhibiting significant activity on the platform.
While Kanchipuram’s leap from 17th to 1st place in just a year is astonishing, the report also underscores that Delhi and its National Capital Region (NCR) counterparts continue to dominate India’s extramarital charts overall, with a staggering nine locations from the region featuring in the top 20.
Kanchipuram’s Unexpected Rise and Delhi-NCR’s Strong Presence
According to the Ashley Madison report, which bases its rankings not only on new sign-ups but also on user activity and engagement, the shift towards smaller cities is a notable trend. Kanchipuram’s rise to the top spot, surpassing major metros like Delhi and Mumbai (which surprisingly didn’t even make the top 20), indicates a decentralization of digital infidelity.
Despite Kanchipuram’s leading position, Delhi’s presence is undeniable, with six of its districts making it into the top 20:
- Central Delhi (ranking 2nd nationally)
- South West Delhi
- East Delhi
- South Delhi
- West Delhi
- North West Delhi
Adding to this dominance are the usual NCR suspects: Gurgaon (Gurugram), Noida (Gautam Buddha Nagar), and Ghaziabad, collectively placing nine Delhi-adjacent hotspots within India’s top 20 cities for extramarital affairs. Factors like Central Delhi’s vibrant anonymity, West Delhi’s bustling business environment, and the convenient “I’m at work late” excuses in Noida and Gurugram appear to be contributing significantly to online infidelity trends in the region.
India’s Top 20 Cities for Extramarital Affairs (Ashley Madison, June 2025 Report):
- Kanchipuram
- Central Delhi
- Gurgaon (Gurugram)
- Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida)
- South West Delhi
- Dehradun
- East Delhi
- Pune
- Bangalore (Bengaluru)
- South Delhi
- Chandigarh
- Lucknow
- Kolkata
- West Delhi
- Kamrup
- North West Delhi
- Raigarh
- Hyderabad
- Ghaziabad
- Jaipur
What’s Fuelling the “Double Lives” Across India?
Experts and various surveys suggest that a complex mix of factors is driving this growing trend of non-monogamy across India:
- Emotional Distance: A growing disconnect within marital relationships.
- Long Working Hours: Increased time spent away from home and family.
- Work-From-Home Fatigue: The blurring of lines between personal and professional lives, leading to relationship strain.
- Social Autonomy: Greater personal freedom and less societal scrutiny, particularly in larger urban centers.
- Anonymity: The inherent discretion offered by big-city life and, more significantly, by dating apps designed for discreet encounters.
Paul Keable, Chief Strategy Officer at Ashley Madison, noted that India is already ranked sixth among their global markets, with projections for it to climb even higher. He stated that “more than half of Indian adults surveyed admitted to infidelity” in an April YouGov survey conducted for Ashley Madison, highlighting that “India is leading the way in redefining modern relationships.”
With platforms like Ashley Madison enabling discreet digital dalliances, the traditional bastions of monogamy are undergoing a significant shift. This phenomenon is not confined to metro cities; from Kanchipuram’s quiet temples to Raigarh’s remote lanes, digital dating is redrawing the emotional geography of relationships across India. However, the report strongly suggests that the Delhi-NCR region is leading this transformation at the fastest pace, effectively “rewriting the rules” of modern relationships in the country.