The latest dating agency to hit the internet caused a stir in Madrid earlier this month, the main reason being because its advertising campaign was aimed at married women, though the agency, Victoria Milan, claims to cater for both sexes. We all know, of course, that neither sex needs an agency in order to be unfaithful.
The agency says it offers ‘Married and Attached Dating – Free and Anonymous’. A further look at its website reveals that its main headquarters are in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. One can’t help but wonder whether this is a case of the more liberal attitudes generally displayed in the Nordic states coming into conflict with the Catholic principles held by many Spaniards?
One indignant male wrote on the agency’s Spanish Facebook page: “You should be ashamed of promoting infidelity.”
One Spanish female, meanwhile, hits out at the agency: “it takes enough sacrifice keeping a family together without this kind of thing.” This implies that an agency like Victoria Milan is an incitement to adultery among those who are, as a rule, faithful. The statistics beg to differ.
“70% of the population is unfaithful, at least in Spain… (Adultery) is a reality,” María, a 25-year-old researcher on a late-night discussion programme for Basque local radio, tells me. “Those who have affairs each have their motives, but you can’t deny it happens.”
“And why not? If both parties agree!” said one 30-year-old female friend when I opened up a discussion on Facebook about the acceptability of an agency like Victoria Milan.
But isn’t it a little cynical to make money out of others’ faithlessness?
“It seems to me that if you’re unfaithful it’s because you feel a sudden attraction for someone and you’re unable to control that feeling,” says María, offering her own opinion. “This way seems a little forced.”
On the other hand, says another female friend (also 30): “It stops the age-old defence argument of ‘I didn’t mean for this to happen’.”
Admittedly, the agency makes no bones about offering adulterous relationships, even where the outcome could be painful: “Do you feel trapped in a monotonous and loveless marriage? Do you miss the magic of passion, excitement and intimacy? Victoria Milan can help!”
Not exactly an advertisement aimed at couples practicing an open and honest relationship:
“Many people in a relationship find it easier and safer to start an affair with a person away from home…” it continues. “Victoria Milan offers a large members base of married and attached users from all over Europe and Scandinavia.”
It goes on to promise safety and confidentiality – in other ways, a guarantee of not getting found out.
There is no denying that a dating agency specifically for those seeking to commit adultery is a concept that many, not just in Spain, will find difficult to swallow. However, in this technological age where one has on average five times more virtual friends than actual ones; where an increasing number of couples are meeting online, and in which pornography has long been a staple of the information highway, wasn’t it just a question of time before infidelity – as old as marriage itself – would find its way onto the internet?
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