BOSTON -- The economic meltdown is cooling off infidelity among married couples, according Massachusetts private detectives.

Private investigators said they believe that would-be cheaters no longer have the money to stray.

“When a depressed economy hits, infidelity goes down,” Phil White, executive director of the Licensed Private Detectives Association of Massachusetts, told the Boston Herald.

White said his business investigating marital infidelity is off as much as 50 percent from this time last year.

“A lot of people can’t afford to (mess) around because they no longer have the expense accounts to write the dinners off. Corporate travel is down, where before they had the hotel,” said Boston divorce attorney Gerald Nissenbaum.

Spurned spouses may also be swallowing their pride, rather than push confrontations that could lead to an expensive divorce.

“There’s a phrase, ‘It’s cheaper to keep her,’ ” White told the newspaper. “Perhaps they’re giving their marriage a second bite at the apple.”

"A lot of people can’t afford to (mess) around because they no longer have expense accounts." - Gerald Nissenbaum

Braintree private investigator Bob Reynolds said his agency has seen a 30- to 40-percent drop-off in its business since the market crash last fall.