How often do people really fall in love?
Twice in their lifetime, a new survey suggests.
Siemens Festival Nights interviewed 2,000 people about their romantic and sexual histories. On average, respondents had fallen head-over-heels in love just twice -- and many of them thought that they were "settling" when it came to their current partner.
One out of seven participants didn't think the person they were currently dating was the "love of their life." Of those one in seven, 73 percent reported that they "made do" with their partner after "true love" slipped through their fingers. Additionally, being in a relationship with someone who isn't their "true love" apparently doesn't stop people from continuing to look for the real thing. Seventeen percent of the adults polled said they had met the love of their life since getting together with their current partner.
Claire Jarvis, Director of Communications for Siemens, spoke to the Daily Telegraph about the survey:
The results showed it can be hard to find "the one" and although the general perception is that women tend to fall in love more often than men, it was intriguing to see that in reality both men and women fall in love on average two times in their life. What is alarming is that so many people claim to be in long term relationships or even married to someone Interestingly, more than half of those polled thought they have been in love on occasions but looking back don't believe it was the "real thing."
Previous research contradicts this study's findings -- a 2012 poll, again of 2,000 adults, found that the average person fell in love four times in their life.
We like those odds a little better.
CORRECTION: This article previously stated that one in seven participants did not think they were dating the love of their life, and that 73 percent had "made do" with their current partner. In fact, 73 percent of the one in seven "made do," not 73 percent of overall respondents.
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