The 10 most common sexual fantasies include sex with an ex and an affair at work

• Sexual fantasies are a way for people to get in touch with their needs and detach from the outside world.
• A new survey of 2,000 people on IllicitEncounters.com found the 10 most common sexual fantasies.
• The most popular fantasy, which 55% of poll respondents said they fantasized about, was having sex with an ex-partner.
• Other common sexual fantasies included sex with a celebrity, sex with a stranger, group sex, and an affair with a work colleague.

Sexual fantasies like being tied up or having sex in a public place are more common than you might think. Now, a new poll has uncovered the top sexual fantasies people have.

IllicitEncounters.com, a dating website for married people, polled 2,000 of its users (half men and half women) and asked about their top sexual fantasy. The most popular result, selected by 55% of respondents, was having sex with an ex-partner.

Nearly a quarter of women who were polled also said that they didn't feel guilt over fantasizing about their exes, and 76% said that doing so was just "part of life," according to the IllicitEncounters.com report.

Sexual fantasies can be used as a tool to help people disconnect from the real world and focus on their pleasure, therapist Ian Kerner previously told INSIDER.

"Role-playing, sharing a fantasy, or engaging in kinky behavior is something some people find really enjoyable and they often lose themselves in these face-to-face interactions," he said.

Christian Grant, a spokesperson for IllicitEncounters.com, said fantasies can remind couples of their sexual pasts. “What this new sex fantasy research shows is that the grass really is greener for a lot of couples who like to reminisce with fondness about past sexual encounters even when they are having sex with their current lovers," Grant said in a statement.

Read more: 10 of the most common reasons someone might cheat

These are the top 10 sexual fantasies:

• Sex with the ex - 55%
• A sex scene on TV or online - 40%
• Sex with a celebrity - 38%
• Sex with a current partner - 36%
• Sex with a stranger - 29%
• An affair with a work colleague - 27%
• Sex with a friend - 25%
• Group sex - 19%
• Sex in a public place - 14%
• Sex with someone in authority (police officer or traffic warden) - 11%

• Read more:
• A relationship therapist explains why the cliché that men are always 'in the mood' for sex is wrong
• 4 ways you could increase your chances of having an orgasm
• 11 ways sex can make you healthier
• More than 2.1 million affairs occurred in the US last winter. Here are the cities where cold-weather cheating is most likely to happen.

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