Should a man hold the door open for his date, and is marriage the proper way to bring up a family? One hundred years ago, most people’s answers would have been fairly predictable – ‘yes’. Today, it’s a bit harder to know what the rules are in love, marriage, dating and romance.
That is, until now. A new study of love and dating across the UK is the closest thing we have to a definitive set of dating rules for what is appropriate and expected in the new world of romantic endeavour in the UK – here are some of the most interesting results.
Marriage: While it may not be the rite of passage it used to be, marriage is still a popular choice among UK singles, with 54% hoping to get married one day.
Relationships: The desire to find a long-term relationship was echoed from singles right across the UK, with 95% looking for long-term love. For most singles, dating is geared towards finding love as opposed to simply a fling.
Chivalry: While the rules on chivalry may have become a lot harder to decipher over recent decades, it seems the majority of men will still opt for the traditional route of chivalry when it comes to dating. A total of 90% will open doors when dating, and 77% would pay for a first date.
Forgiveness: While we may be forgiving or more minor blunders, very few UK residents are willing to forgive an infidelity. Men are slightly more forgiving than women, with 14% willing to forgive a cheating partner, versus just 7% of women.
Children: The majority of singles are keen to have children one day. Perhaps surprisingly, men are more keen than women – 58% of men said ‘yes’, compared to just 50% of women.
Turn Off/On: The main turn off for love and dating is sarcasm, a bug-bear for many in the UK. The main turn on is candlelight. Just watch out for the curtains!
Ideal Man: Tastes change greatly from person to person. However, after all the data was collected, the perfect man according to UK women had blue eyes, dark brown hair and an average build.
Ideal Woman: Again, different men will always find completely different things attractive in a woman. However, overall the favourite combination was found to be blue eyes, blonde hair and an average build.
The study gave an insight into navigating today’s world of love and dating. It showed that most people still hope to marry and have children and that traditional values are still alive and well, particularly when it comes to chivalry.
More importantly, the study proved that, for most people in the UK, finding love is becoming more important as time goes on. Of the 16,000 singles surveyed, 62% said finding love was more important to them now than it was a year ago. This study of love and dating led experts to conclude that there is a shift afoot in modern Britain, with long-term love replacing short-term flings as the ideal type of relationship.