Clive Murphy said he had very few clients in the early stages of lockdown, but that in the past three weeks he has been nearly fully booked with more couples turning to him for advice as quarantine begins to take its toll on their love lives.

Mr Murphy said the long hours spent together in lockdown was the acid test of a relationship, with any pre-existing problems coming to the fore in times of stress.

"When people are always together and they don't have an outside interest they have to learn to get along with each other a lot better," Mr Murphy said.

"If there's anything there not going well in a relationship it can certainly come out, and if you don't have the ability to deal with it it can fester and create problems."

Those problems can lead people down the path to temptation, Mr Murphy says, especially as restrictions lift and people return to their workplaces and start seeing other people again.

Mr Murphy said those who have passed the honeymoon phase of their relationship are especially vulnerable to temptation, with some people seeking excitement elsewhere out of sheer boredom.

"In some cases it's come out of lockdown and sometimes it's been happening before, but lockdown has brought it to the fore," Mr Murphy said.

"There's always people out there who think the grass is greener on the other side, so they'll put their toe in the water or their whole leg in the water and eventually get caught out and have a decision to make as to whether they stay or go."

For couples going through a bumpy patch in their relationship, cheating-related or otherwise, Mr Murphy recommends a frank and open dialogue about their problems.

"If your partner doesn't do something you want it's important to be able to talk about it so you can get to where you want to be," he said.

"Be aware of the things you love about your partner and keep reinforcing the things you love. Relationship are about give and take, so have some empathy and understanding."