From romance to rifts, taxis are synonymous with backseat drama – and new research from ride-hailing app, FREE NOW, has revealed just how much Brits rely on their taxi drivers to lend an ear.

FREE NOW’s nationwide research has revealed that almost a quarter of taxi riders have confessed a secret or sought life advice from their driver (23%) – with men much more likely to let a secret slip than women.

Over a quarter of men (27%) admit to spilling secrets to a taxi driver, compared to less than one in five (19%) of women. In fact, over one in 10 men (11%) would be just as likely to divulge a secret to their taxi driver as their partner, with 15% citing the ‘compulsive need to confess’ as the reason to turn to a total stranger – likely driven by two fifths (40%) of men have confessed an affair to their driver.

When looking for advice for their issues, the top topics men turn to their drivers for are relationships (52%), finances (48%) or health (48%) – whereas women are more likely to ask for career advice (43%) as well as also seeking help with relationships (60%) and finances (45%).

FREE NOW’s survey of its drivers uncovered some equally outrageous anecdotes. Shockingly, a sixth (16%) have had a customer admit that they don’t love their partner but comparatively, one driver actually witnessed a marriage proposal in the back of his cab, whilst multiple have had a woman go into labour during a journey. Heartwarmingly, 25% of drivers have had a customer share the news that they’re expecting a baby.

Mariusz Zabrocki, General Manager at FREE NOW, comments: “These “cab confessions” show how taxi drivers are probably one of the few professions where people feel able to open up more about their personal lives. Being a driver puts you in such a unique position to hear and see things from others in a way that most people don’t. It also highlights how safe passengers feel with taxi drivers that they are able to trust them with secrets they usually feel unable to share with anyone else. “