(Now if that isn't an "I had to wonder..." headline!)

I just received a press release from Divorce360.com about cheating:

"A new study suggests between 40 to 70 percent of partners cheat on their spouses, making infidelity the new norm in a relationship. 'It's very high,' according to University of Montreal researcher Genevieve Beaulieu-Pelletier. [But] the results don't surprise Divorce360.com expert Tina B. Tessina, Ph.D., a psychotherapist: 'Contrary to what we'd like to believe, I think there's always been more infidelity than faithfulness,' Tessina said. 'America has a huge prostitution industry, for one thing, that few people ever talk about. Who's keeping it going? Add to that the one-night stands when people are on business trips, affairs at the office, and all the other sexual encounters married people can have. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been going on for all of history.'"

Does Tessina speak the truth?  Here's your chance to come clean:

Diane Sawyer is interviewing ex-call girl Ashley Dupre tonight on 20/20.

I've heard several media reports lately where Dupre's referred to as "the woman who brought down New York Governor Eliot Spitzer."

I'd beg to differ.

Dupre tells Sawyer that she didn't know he was the governor, but that's besides the point: The governor chose to see a prostitute, knowingly putting his successful career and, more importantly, his family on the line. Wouldn't it be more accurate to say he brought himself down?

The New York Daily News recently reported that men are engaging in regular sex with prostitutes to combat the stress of these uncertain economic times... even married men. In fact, NYC psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert says more and more of his clients are battling sex addiction (like David Duchovny):

"'Since early spring, maybe late winter, there's just been an increase, and I believe it might have something to do with the economy,' he says. 'A lot of the Wall Streeters use sex as a way to cope with stress. Bankers do tend to rely on pretty unhealthy ways of coping with stress... Some of them come right out and say, I'm stressed. This is how I deal with it. It's not the worst thing in the world. I'm not using drugs. But when it starts to increase, then it's a problem.' According to Alpert, many of these men consider going to an Asian massage parlor during their lunch break normal. 'The service received may include being masturbated or even oral sex,' he says. 'This has increased, as reported by several of my clients. Instead of going once a week, maybe they're going three or four times a week. And these are married men.'"

I wonder if those married men blame the economy for their cheating--as if it's a legitimate excuse--the way Peter Cook blamed his infidelity on Christie Brinkley.

RELATED:

• How to recession-proof your marriage
• 32 emotional signs that he's cheating
• Your guys' worst behavior, explained
• Dr. Gail Saltz: Why do men cheat?

PLUS: Which is worse, having an affair with a friend or coworker--or visiting a prostitute? Watch this video.

Our friends at Women's Health magazine surveyed over 1,300 women for a new cheating study. They're publishing the results in their November issue but, before you buy it, here's a sneak preview of their (disturbing, disheartening) findings:

• 46.3 percent of the women surveyed have been romantically involved with a "taken" man

Of the 46.3 percent who cheated...

• 32.2 percent of the flings were premeditated, while 67.8 percent were spontaneous
• 24 percent said he was the husband of boyfriend of someone she knew

Did his commitment to another woman come into play?

• 40.5 percent said they were bothered by it, but not enough to put on the brakes
• 27.1 percent said his commitment is his responsibility, not mine
• 21 percent didn't think about it
• 10.2 percent said if he's cheating on her, their relationship will end anyway

In regards to the appeal of his taken status...

• 43.5 percent said his status is irrelevant; I just wanted him
• 21.7 percent said it guaranteed the relationship wouldn't get serious
• 19.6 percent said he treated every minute with me like it was a vacation
• 15 percent said the sneaking around made sex extra-exciting

How long did it last?

• 20 percent of the affairs lasted a few weeks
• 29.9 percent went on for several months
• 22.9 percent kept the forbidden flame alive for a year or more

Is cheating ever acceptable?

• 20.7 percent of the women surveyed said there are circumstances in which cheating with a taken man is justified [Editor's note: What are they?]
• 9.2 percent said if a woman wants a man, she should pursue him [Editor's note: Yowzaz.]
• 11.5 percent said only if he's planning on leaving his wife/girlfriend

Do scandals in the media change the perception of cheating?

• 67.9 percent of the women surveyed think Angelina Jolie's continued popularity is an indication that the other women is being stigmatized less now than in the past

Non-cheaters--53.7 percent of the women surveyed--speak out...

• 68.5 percent have a female friend who's been involved with a taken man
• 79 percent have a male friend who has cheated on his wife or girlfriend

Yikes.

Plus, Sex and cheating: stress-relievers during scary economic times?

There's a new "Sexploration" article up on MSNBC.com about sexy text messages, a topic that's been very popular here on iVillage.  But Brian Alexander's piece focuses on sexy texts within military marriages: "Love and war: He's deployed, his wife is flirting." A 21-year-old man in the military has been married to his wife for about a year and says...

"When I deployed, she [text] messaged a guy and told him that if she were single she would have sex, cuddle, kiss with him. I was hurt when I returned and found out about this message. She continued to say it was just something they were talking about, that we are married, she loves me and no one else. Well, now our sexual life is down to about once, if that, a week. I have a fear of her cheating on me."

I agree with Dr .Gail Saltz's definition of cheating. She writes...

"An affair really has to do with secrecy, deception of the partner and therefore betrayal. It also has to do with the amount of emotional energy you put into the new person that you therefore are not giving to your partner."

So what do you think? Is Dr. Gail right? Based on your definition of infidelity, does sending sexy texts count as cheating?

I don't blink an eye when I hear women complain that their guys watch porn in moderation.  When I hear women complain that their guys go to strip clubs in moderation (bachelor parties, for instance), I tell them to fuhgettaboutit and have a wild girls' night out of their own.  But there's no such thing as cheating "in moderation."  With cheating, I have a no-tolerance policy.   

That's why I was pretty appalled to learn that Mario Lopez was just chosen as People's Hottest Bachelor of 2008, right on the heels of the announcement that he's been reportedly cheating on his recent ex, Karina Smirnoff, for over a year (and that was reportedly far from his first time cheating). Is that "hot?" 

Hardly.

I agree with iVillage blogger This Fish, who says she's "having a very, very hard time erasing images of Slater in his crazy acid-washed, wide-thighed, tight-ankled jeans."  But that's not the only bone I have to pick with this bachelor choice.  Blech.

Tracey Cox may have debunked the top 12 cheating myths we're familiar with... but they don't apply to everyone!  According to journalist Pamela Druckerman, author of Lust in Translation, people around the world cheat for different reasons and in very different ways.  For example, did you know:

• Russian spouses don't count beach resort flings as infidelity?
• South Africans consider drunkenness an adequate excuse for extramarital sex?
• Japanese businessmen believe, "if you pay [for the sex], it's not cheating"?

Can you hear me rolling my eyes?

Did anyone else watch The Moment of Truth the other night?

I don't want to place judgment on the contestants because I realize that "desperate times lead to desperate measures," and I don't know their financial situations. But I just can't imagine that they'll look back and say their winnings were worth what they lost.

Just to set up the premise for those of you who didn't watch (the show airs again tonight on Fox if you want to tune in): The contestants are asked questions before the show while hooked up to a lie detector test. But they're not told whether the test registered their answers as truthful. They're then asked the questions again during the show taping... while friends, family members and—most notably—wives and girlfriends look on from a few feet away. Only then does the voice come over the loud speaker to announce whether they're being honest or lying. Every time the contestants' answers match the lie detector's answers, they make money (up to $100,000).

Sounds fun, right? Well, it is for at-home viewers—if not a bit unsettling—but it definitely isn't fun for the wives and girlfriends.

The host asked one contestant, who had already admitted to a gambling addiction, if he was hiding a bank account from his girlfriend. He said no, and the lie detector confirmed that to be true.

Phew!

But not all exchanges went quite so smoothly. The host asked another contestant if he's done anything during his 2.5-year marriage that would make his wife lose his trust. He said yes, as his wife responded that she had no idea what he might be referring to. Later the same contestant was asked if he's delayed having children with her because he doesn't think she'll be his "lifelong partner." Again, he said yes. At that point, her friend turned to her and whispered, "Is it worth $100,000 to learn that?"

And that's what I want to ask you: Would it be worth $100,000 to find out information about your partner that you might not want to know? Comment below.