Men say paying escorts for sex is a "necessity", not a pleasure.

A survey of more than 6,000 married men has found paying for sex is a common, and in some cases frequent, habit of men who are looking to cheat.

Surprisingly, the survey found most men don’t enjoy soliciting sex from escorts — they do it out of ‘necessity’ (cough cough… bear with me).

The survey was conducted by Victoria Milan – a dating website for married and attached people looking for an affair. The research found almost half (47.3 per cent) of males surveyed had paid for sex before.

Almost a quarter (23.3 per cent) pay for sex regularly – approximately once a week.

And more than a third (35 per cent) of those men soliciting sex don’t see the experience as a ‘pleasure’. They view it as “necessary sexual release”.

Furthermore, 80 per cent of men said they hire a sex worker for the minimum time available - usually an hour - to "get it over and done with".

Only five per cent of men said they opt to stay the night, usually for security reasons - they don't want to be found out.

“Men engaging escorts is a love/hate relationship," founder and CEO of Victoria Milan, Sigurd Vedal said in a press release.

"Men love sex and need to have it regularly and escorts meet that demand."

Listen: the 'Monogamish' approach to relationships, explained. Post continues below.

"However the majority aren’t satisfied with the experience," Vedal continued. "They are often disappointed when the escort doesn’t live up to expectations in the bedroom or doesn’t look like her advertised picture."

The main reasons men were willing to pay for a bit of fun?

They couldn't find an available partner to cheat with (charming) or they were unable to fulfil their sexual fantasies with their long-term partner - 40.1 per cent and 36.0 per cent respectively.

Still... calling it a 'necessity'? That's a bit rich.