August 2015 was a rough month for love. Hackers released data from AshleyMadison.com, a dating site created specifically for married people looking to cheat on their spouses.

With more than 32 million users' identities revealed, it’s reasonable to get the sense that all men want to cheat. But of course, that would ignore the fact that anyone can stray, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, and that it takes two for a married person to cheat.

But should married men always be blamed for cheating? Is there something about the wedding ring that makes a man seem nicer, smarter, attractive, desirable and most importantly more lovely to love?

We spoke to some women who are and love dating married men and they made some interesting revelations about the reason they made that choice and why they will always prefer the man with the wedding band over a single one.

1.They make you feel good about yourself

Pearl (not her real name) says “I like the fact that he is taking a major life risk to enjoy my company…this guy is married so I must be really special if he is doing all that”. Married men who date single women or young girls have a lot to lose but this is not a bother to the women. They tend to feel that just choosing to be with them boosts their self confidence. But this is not the case for the men, they tend to feel insecure about themselves because they are aware of the limitations this brings to them.

2.They have shown they’re willing and able to commit

One of women’s most cliché complaint about dating men is that they resist or are unwilling to settle down so “so it feels good to settle for someone who is already there and understands what it means to love a woman like she deserves. The single guys (some of them) don’t know anything about romance or how to make a woman happy, all they think about is sex sex all the time. But a married man knows when to ask for sex and when to have fun”, Pearl said.

But what Pearl does not realise is that if he is willing to cheat with her, then cheating on her is not a big deal at all.

3. They are grown ups (literally)

Anyone can get married, but it still feels like a very adult thing to do; the guy presumably has his act together. In Pearl’s view “Woman are used to seeing guys who play video games and living in their parent’s house, but married men look attractive because they’re actually accomplishing things. He has a car and a house of his own, he reports to nobody (well of course except his supposed wife) and this puts him up there above the single guy”.

4. They give you a sense of adventure

“It is totally adventurous! If he messes up, all you need to do is make a phone call to his wife and although this could destroy a family, the thought of being able to do something as disastrous as that gives me a lot of pleasure”.

 5. They enable any intimacy issues you might have

A married guy can’t get too close to you, which may be a good thing if you’re the one who has trouble opening up. “A single woman may be attracted to a married man because she isn’t ready—or wanting—a committed, long-term relationship at the time,” says Pearl. “She selects a man who isn’t really available to her.” Put another way, “It’s a relationship that’s guaranteed not to work or at least is less likely to work,” she added.