There’s a reason why every song is about love: We all crave it, whether we want to admit it or not. But modern love is far from simple, and it’s often far from kind, too.
It can be a confusing, not to mention heartbreaking, experience. But isn’t that what makes love so enthralling? For better or for worse, love changes the way we see the world — which is why these statistics about love are so fascinating.
As corny as it sounds, our screwed-up world has not stopped people from believing in true love, or even in soulmates. The tropes we associate with fairy tales, like love triangles and “opposites attract” romances, are very much part of real people’s love stories.
These statistics not only reveal how millions of people experience love, but also how it shapes their views on romance and relationships.
1. About 76% of Respondents Believe Romantic Love Can Last Forever
There’s a tiny cynic inside all of us, and it wants nothing more than to convince us that love is dead. But nearly 80%1 of recent survey respondents believe that love is not only alive and well, but powerful enough to last forever.
No matter how much social media and global politics and AI test our optimism, the truth is that we’re all a little more hopeful about love than we might realize.
2. Nearly 75% Say That Some Relationships Are Meant To Be
Are our romantic destinies truly written in the stars? Over 70% of respondents think they just might be1. “Meant to be” means something different to everyone, but generally speaking, we like to think that we’ll eventually end up with “the one,” regardless of the romantic blunders we make along the way.
Respondents Who Believe True Love is “Meant To Be”
The concept of a soul mate can be more difficult for people to accept, since it implies there’s one rare, perfect partner out there for each of us — a belief that defies the “nobody’s perfect” mantra. But 61% of people surveyed said they actually do believe in perfection, at least in the form of a perfect match, AKA a soul mate.
3. Nearly Half (49%) Have Fallen For Someone They Weren’t Attracted To At First
Being “meant to be” or “soul mates” with someone doesn’t mean it was love at first sight. Nearly 50% of survey respondents can attest to this, as they all reportedly fell in love with someone they weren’t initially attracted to1.
As tempting as creating a perfect-partner checklist might be, it can elevate our expectations far beyond what reality can deliver, setting everyone up for disappointment and even heartbreak. Why risk this when, as one survey found, 46% of respondents have fallen for someone they didn’t expect, or who didn’t fit their perfect-partner checklist?
4. About 62% Believe in Love at First Sight
Love at first sight sounds like something from a fairy tale, but more than half (62%) of those surveyed said they believe that love at first sight does, in fact, exist1. Even more encouraging to all us love-seekers? Almost half (47%) say they’ve experienced love at first sight themselves. Maybe some fairy tales really can come true.
5. More Than Half (52%) of Gen Z Prefer Big Romantic Gestures
If taking a big romantic swing feels like a young person’s game, you may not be far off: More than half (52%) of Gen Z survey respondents said that they prefer an elaborate romantic gesture to a small act of affection1, the most of any surveyed generation.
It’s possible that young people, enraptured by fairy tales or romcoms, simply want to experience those heart-pounding moments for themselves, and leave the quieter moments for another day.
6. About 7 in 10 Boomers Believe Small Acts of Affection Are More Meaningful
A romantic grand gesture, while exciting, can also read hollow — and maybe even immature. This might explain why a majority of surveyed baby boomers (70%) prefer small, everyday acts of affection over grand gestures1.
There’s just something about, say, an unexpected forehead kiss that feels more intimate and more substantive than a loud fireworks display. For some people, the best lesson to come with age is this: Big and loud doesn’t always mean something is meaningful.
7. On Average, Men Fall in Love 1 Month Earlier Than Women
Women have a reputation (or, more accurately, a stereotype) for falling in love quickly, and falling in love hard. But one survey found that this stereotype is just that: a hollow representation of the truth. On average, the men involved in the study fell in love at least one month earlier than the women.2
Societal expectations might explain this phenomenon. One of the study’s researchers posited that men are simply accustomed to the chase — to doing what it takes to “win over” a partner — and that, as a result, they fall in love earlier than women.
But one survey found that this stereotype is just that: a hollow representation of the truth.
8. Women Experience Romantic Love More Intensely Than Men
Men may fall in love earlier, but women still tend to feel love more intensely. The reason why might be tied to something unexpected: where you live2. Or, more accurately, to the societal expectations that are part of every country’s culture.
Generally speaking, people in gender-equal countries experience lower-intensity love, perhaps because the milestones we associate with traditional love — the first “I love you,” marriage proposals, etc. — can come from either person in the relationship, not just the man.
9. Women Think About Their Partners More Than Men
Whether they’re simply daydreaming about their partners or obsessing over their every move, women tend to think about their loved ones more than men2. This particular study posited that some women are raised to put their male partner’s needs first, which might explain why women are more likely to think about them.
Interestingly, the study suggests that some women might also become more obsessive about men, at least in terms of how often they think about them.
10. Over 90% Say Trust Plays the Most Important Role in Relationship Success
It’s possible that love isn’t so much a single emotion as a byproduct of several different emotions and behaviors, namely trust, honesty, and respect. In fact, 94% of respondents to a 2025 study3 said that trust plays the most important role in relationship success.
Honesty came in second place with 92% of the vote, and mutual respect came in a close third place with 91% of the vote. While physical attraction is important, relationship success isn’t so much about physical love as it is about emotional respect and trust.
What Plays the Most Important Role in Relationship Success?
11. You Can’t Love Someone Until You Love Yourself, According to 44% of Respondents
“If you don’t love yourself, how the hell are you going to love anyone else?” RuPaul always says. According to 44% of survey respondents, he might have a point. These respondents say it’s “definitely true” that you can’t fully love someone else, or be ready for love, until you genuinely love yourself, warts and all3.
This is easier said than done, of course. Some respondents have their doubts — only 32% say it’s “probably true” — but it’s clear that many of us believe self-love plays a major role in relationship success.
12. About 40% Say It’s “Probably True” That Opposites Attract
We’ve heard the ol’ “opposites attract” adage for decades now, but is there really any truth to it? For 40% of respondents, the answer is yes (or, to use the survey’s wording, it’s “probably true”)3. But where some people see healthy differences in opinion, others see impassable chasms: only 17% of respondents believe that this adage is “definitely true.”
Only 0% of respondents believe it’s “definitely true” that opposites attract.
I suppose it all depends on the type of opposites we’re talking about. If a couple merely differs on a few low-stakes opinions, then yes, they could easily have a healthy attraction. But if they differ on foundational beliefs and values, then “opposites attract" could quickly devolve into chaos.
13. Roughly 9 in 10 People Have Been in Love
True love — the kind involving musical numbers and Disney heroines — is relatively rare. But one study found that the actual act of falling in love is surprisingly common: nearly 90% of respondents said they’ve been in love with someone in their lifetime.4
With 9 in 10 people experiencing love at one point in their lives, it seems we’re all more open to love and to the commitments that come with it than we might think.
14. Over 75% Say They’ve Told a Romantic Interest That They Love Them
Falling in love is one thing. Telling the object of your affection that you love them is another thing entirely, requiring healthy self-confidence and more than a little courage.
People are still willing to bare their souls in the name of love, even if it means risking heartbreak.
Thankfully, nearly 80% of respondents said they’ve told a romantic interest that they love them4. And even more people — 82% — said someone else has confessed their love to them at one point. It’s encouraging to know that somewhere out there, people are still willing to bare their souls in the name of love, even if it means risking heartbreak.
15. Love Triangles Are a Reality for 22% of Respondents
Yes, love triangles really do exist outside of soap operas and sitcoms. Over 20% of survey respondents say they, much like Bridget Jones or Carrie Bradshaw, have been involved in a love triangle at some point4.
This actually isn’t too hard to believe, if you consider what a love triangle actually is: a competition for one or two people’s hearts, defined by an inability to commit to just one person.
16. Most Respondents (24%) Say They’ve Been in Love With 2 People
Just because nearly 90% of us have fallen in love doesn’t mean it happens all the time. One study found that most people — 24% out of more than 18,000 respondents — have only been in love with two people in their lifetimes5.
A Vast Majority of Respondents Say They've Fallen in Love
There’s no clear explanation for why some respondents loved more people than others. Case in point: 19% said they’ve been in love with three people, while 17% have only been in love with one person. These stats reveal just how unpredictable our hearts can be.
17. More than 10% Weren’t Sure They’ve Ever Been in Love
That ‘90s song “What is Love?” might be asking the right question, as 12% of survey respondents said they weren’t sure if they’ve ever been in love at all5. Maybe this explains why some people fall in love with multiple people throughout their lives, while others only fall in love with one.
Our collective definition of love may include words like attraction, trust, and respect, but our individual definitions are all slightly different. Only you can decide if you’re truly “in love” with someone.
18. About 1 in 3 Said They’ve Experienced Passionate Love — Not Just Ordinary Love
One study broke the definition of love down into two parts: passionate love and ordinary love. By definition, ordinary love is more common than passionate love, and the survey reflects this.
Only 30.3% said they’ve experienced passionate love at least twice in their lives, which was the most common answer6.
0% of respondents say they’ve never experienced passionate love.
And yet, it’s more likely for people to experience passionate love more than once, according to the 27.8% who said they have only experienced passionate love one time. An even smaller number of respondents — 14.2% — said they’ve never experienced passionate love.
19. Belief in True Love Drops Among People in Relationships
Here’s a startling stat: 88% of 2,000 survey respondents said they believe in true love… but that number falls to 79% among people in serious relationships7. This suggests that 1 in 5 people in serious relationships don’t actually believe they’ve found “true love” with their partner.
This doesn’t mean true love doesn’t exist, but that being in a long-term relationship does not always mean you’re with the love of your life. For some people, it takes being in a long-term, but complacent, relationship to realize that they haven’t yet found true love.
20. About 70% of Men and Women Believe in True Love
At least men and women can agree on something! More than half (70%) of both genders agree that true love is real7. However, women are less likely to believe they’re currently in a relationship with their true love.
Only 50% of women who believe in true love feel they’re currently experiencing it, compared to 58% of men.
Tough Times Have Not Destroyed Our Belief in Love
In a world like ours, vulnerability is not always celebrated. So I was genuinely surprised — and delighted — when I realized how, despite it all, people still generally believe in the power of love.
They’re not only searching for “the one” they’re meant to be with, but also admitting their feelings to the people they care about. Love gives people the courage to open their hearts, to see past initial impressions, and to give nontraditional dynamics a try. The stats don’t lie: people have not lost their reverence for romance.
Yes, love still hurts, and it’s increasingly complicated in these uber-efficient, tech-oriented times. These surveys reveal a growing number of people who can’t quite define love for themselves. But if I’ve learned anything from these survey respondents, it’s that our feelings of love and our ideas about love are always subject to change.
Ultimately, these statistics suggest that even as people rethink what love looks like, they haven’t stopped believing it’s worth pursuing.
Data Sources:
1. https://mtch.com/news/match-unveils-15th-annual-singles-in-america-study/
2. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-men-fall-faster-women.html
3. https://d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/Relationship_Advice_poll_results.pdf
4. https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/48616-love-sex-and-heartbreak-american-relationship-experiences
5. https://yougov.com/en-us/daily-results/20240214-14ab6-1
6. https://news.iu.edu/kinseyinstitute/live/news/48909-how-many-times-will-we-fall-passionately-in-love-new-k
7. https://talkerresearch.com/research-reveals-what-people-really-think-about-true-love/
