Fun fact · Our own analysis of Google Trends data, not official statistics. How we measured it
Looking for an affair?
Google search interest for “Seitensprung” (affair, fling) by state (0–100), January–October 2026
East Germans google “Seitensprung” (an affair or fling) 1.4× as often as West Germans: 88 against 64. Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern top the list; the big cities search least. Dating apps show no such divide: Tinder is close (1.1× West).
Inner-German border 1949–1990 ·16 states · January–October 2026
Former West
64
excl. Berlin
Former East
88
excl. Berlin
Berlin
40
Figures in search index
The East stands at 136% of the West's level (January–October 2026).
By state
- Brandenburg100
- Mecklenburg-Vorpommern100
- Saarland98
- Thüringen95
- Sachsen-Anhalt91
- Rheinland-Pfalz90
- Bayern71
- Sachsen70
- Baden-Württemberg66
- Schleswig-Holstein63
- Nordrhein-Westfalen61
- Niedersachsen60
- Hessen48
- Hamburg41
- Berlin40
January–October 2026
How we measured this
Google Trends, region Germany, resolution by state, web search for the term “Seitensprung”, January–October 2026, pulled on 4 November 2026 (one term per request; a repeat pull gave identical values). Google scales each state from 0 to 100 relative to the state with the highest share of searches for the term (100 = most interest), so the index reflects how often a term is searched relative to all searches in a state, not the number of people. East and West are averages of the state values weighted by population on 31 December 2025 (our calculation).
- “Seitensprung” is also searched for TV shows, songs and advice articles, not only by people looking for an affair.
- Hesse scores unusually high for several English-language brand names (Tinder, Bumble, Ozempic, Wegovy). Many VPN and corporate internet exits sit in Frankfurt, which may inflate Hesse for some terms.
- A search index measures interest, not behaviour: searching for something is not the same as doing it.
- Google samples its data, so values can shift by a few points between pulls.
- States below Google’s reporting threshold are shown without a value.
Notes & caveats
- Dating and swinging, same period: “Tinder”: East 70, West 75.4, Berlin 73 (1.1× West). “Bumble”: East 38.8, West 51.1, Berlin 69 (1.3× West). “Joyclub” (swinger and erotic community): East 77.1, West 73.7, Berlin 36 (level).
Show the table
| State | Side | January–October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Saarland | west | 98 search index |
| Berlin | berlin | 40 search index |
| Brandenburg | east | 100 search index |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | east | 100 search index |
| Sachsen | east | 70 search index |
| Sachsen-Anhalt | east | 91 search index |
| Thüringen | east | 95 search index |
| Schleswig-Holstein | west | 63 search index |
| Hamburg | west | 41 search index |
| Niedersachsen | west | 60 search index |
| Bremen | west | — |
| Nordrhein-Westfalen | west | 61 search index |
| Hessen | west | 48 search index |
| Rheinland-Pfalz | west | 90 search index |
| Baden-Württemberg | west | 66 search index |
| Bayern | west | 71 search index |