Is Montana Chock Full of Cheaters?

According to a new study, Montanans appear to be doing a fair amount of Googling Ashley Madison, the dating app specifically marketed to married people looking to screw around on their spouses.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, here's something that made me a touch uncomfortable... Montana ranks sixth in the nation for Ashley Madison searches per capita.

This does sound pretty scandalous until you remember that curiosity, boredom, and late-night doomscrolling can be powerful forces. Just because Montanans are searching a cheating site doesn't necessarily mean they're cheating, though. Right?

Read More: Mullowny Lane Is the Busiest Road in Montana, Says MDT

At least we're not as bad as those down-low cheaters in Colorado?

Montana clocks in about 21% above the national average, with roughly 3,874 searches per month statewide. Ashley Madison ranks as the second most searched dating app in Montana, which raises eyebrows… and questions.

For some national context, Ashley Madison is reportedly the third most popular dating app in the U.S., averaging nearly one million Google searches per month. Colorado tops the list of Ashley Madison curiosity with 424 searches per 100,000 residents. That's 24,897 per month for the Mile High City, nearly 50% higher than the national average. 

Worth noting: this study doesn’t mean Montanans are actually cheating more.

It means they’re searching Ashley Madison more. This could be driven by curiosity, jokes, outrage, or someone hearing about the app on a podcast, movie, or on the radio and then Googling it.

Interestingly, Montana isn’t even the biggest offender regionally. North Dakota ranks second overall, while Nebraska sits fifth. Meanwhile, Mississippi, Alaska, and Louisiana land on the “most faithful” side of the ledger, at least according to what states are searching for cheater apps like Ashley Madison.

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So what does it all mean?

I'd take it with a grain of salt. What people search for online certainly indicates... something. But a direct correlation to cheating on your spouse might be a stretch here.

Maybe a lot of the searches are from people who think their spouse is cheating, and THEY are going to Ashley Madison to try to catch them somehow? Or maybe I'm totally naive, and a crap-ton of Montanans are doing sneaky things.

Opinion: Don't be a cheater. If you're not happy in your relationship, take steps to correct it or break it off and be single. Cheating on your partner is just not cool, and apps that cater to cheating are gross. 

Search data stats in this story were provided by JET IT Services.