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Study

70% of Men in Relationships Say “I Love You” First

C. Price

Written by: C. Price

C. Price

C. Price is part of DatingAdvice.com's content team. She writes advice articles, how-to guides, and studies — all relating to dating, relationships, love, sex, and more.

Edited by: Lillian Castro

Lillian Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro brings more than 30 years of journalism experience to ensure DatingAdvice articles have been edited for overall clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement. She has worked at The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, The Gwinnett Daily News, and The Gainesville Sun covering lifestyle topics.

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Reviewed by: Amber Brooks

Amber Brooks

Amber Brooks is the Editor-in-Chief at DatingAdvice.com. When she was growing up, her family teased her for being "boy crazy," but she preferred to think of herself as a budding dating and relationship expert. As an English major at the University of Florida, Amber honed her communication skills to write clearly, knowledgeably, and passionately about a variety of subjects. Now with over 1,800 lifestyle articles to her name, Amber brings her tireless wit and relatable experiences to DatingAdvice.com. She has been quoted as a dating expert by The Washington Times, Cosmopolitan, The New York Post, Bustle, Salon, Well+Good, and AskMen.

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Discuss This! Discuss This!

Men are more likely to say “I love you” first in their relationships, and they also believe these three words should be spoken earlier in a relationship than women, according to a new study.

When researchers looked at the data, they found men dropped the “L” word first in 70% of the relationships they examined, which clashed with respondent expectations.

And 62% of respondents originally believed women were more likely to say those three little words first.

“The average man believes a couple should

start saying “I love you” after three months.”

 

Furthermore, researchers found the average man believes a couple should start saying “I love you” after just three months together, while the average woman feels five months is a more appropriate timeline for declarations of love.

The gender dynamics of saying “I love you” become more complicated when you toss sex, or a lack of sex, into the equation.

Men feel better about their relationships if their woman expresses love before they have sex, while women prefer hearing “I love you” after they’ve already had sex with a man.

A lack of sex in a relationship also seems to accelerate romantic pronouncements, as men noted saying “I love you” within one month of a relationship if the couple hadn’t had sex yet.

Source: eharmony.com.