Swipe right on enough closet weirdos and dating can start to feel more like cruel and unusual punishment than the start of a timeless love story. And a new survey from Match.com says, for some of us, love really is elusive.
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According to data from their Singles in America study, which probes into the dating lives and romantic attitudes of over 5,000 single guys and gals across the country, one in five men say they’ve never been in love. Not even once.
But it’s actually not all that much better for women. Eighteen percent of the ladies report never having been in love, either.
Surprisingly, many dudes are still pretty optimistic about the prospect of a fairytale ending. Fifty-nine percent of guys believe in love at first sight and 41 percent even claim it’s happened to them at least once. Awww.
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Match’s survey also found that men tend to get swept away more frequently than women. The average dude falls in love 3.7 times in his life, compared to only 2.9 times for women. We'll chalk that up to the fact that women are a bit more discerning when it comes to choosing their mates.
It’s OK—keep those standards high, girl.
Macaela MacKenzie is a journalist who writes about women and power. She covers women’s equality through the lenses of sports, wellness, and the gender gap across industries and is the author of MONEY, POWER, RESPECT: How Women in Sports Are Shaping the Future of Feminism. Mac was most recently a Senior Editor at Glamour where she directed all health and wellness coverage. Her work has appeared in Elle, Glamour, SELF, Bustle, Marie Claire, Allure, Women's Health, and Forbes among other publications.
