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Study

Men 74% More Likely to Have First Date Sex Lead to a Relationship

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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This is an exclusive study conducted by DatingAdvice.com, which surveyed respondents over the course of three weeks to reflect an accurate representation of the U.S. population.


Love ‘em and leave ‘em is a pattern often attributed more to men.

However, new research conducted by DatingAdvice.com found it is actually women who are far less likely to end up in a relationship after first-date sex.

Overall, men in the study were 74% more likely than women to say they would date someone after having sex on the first date. Among those surveyed, one-third of men and one-fifth of women indicated having such a relationship.

DatingAdvice.com expert Gina Stewart said the results don’t necessarily mean men are more eager to knock boots and then get into a relationship, so women shouldn’t jump to any conclusions.

“The stats are still a third of men have done this and a fifth of women have. That means 66% of guys who have done this didn’t pursue a relationship ever. That’s most men!” she said. “And of the 33% of men who have had first-date sex lead to a relationship, that doesn’t mean every first-date encounter led to a relationship. It happened at least once for them.”

“As far as I’m concerned, and I’m no math expert, but I’d be careful about bumping uglies with a man on the first date and thinking it will go somewhere,” she added.

“Men were more likely to date someone

after having sex on the first date.”

Middle-income men and women were also among the most likely demographics to embrace this pattern of dating, with 30% of those earning between $50,000 and $74,999 a year answering in the affirmative versus just 23 percent of those earning $125,000 or more annually.

In terms of ethnicity, Hispanic-Americans outperformed all other racial groups. More than one in three have started a relationship after sleeping with someone on the first romantic outing. At one in five, Asian-Americans were the least likely.

Among the least likely to take part was younger Americans and Midwesterners.

Men and women aged 18 to 24 had the lowest response at 15%, while twice as many men and women aged 45 to 54 have formed a relationship after a sexual encounter on a first date.

Twenty-three percent of Midwesterners have done so, compared to 29% of respondents living in the West have.

The study surveyed 1,080 respondents over the course of three weeks, balancing responses by age, gender, income, race, sexuality and other factors in order to accurately represent the U.S. population. The study has a margin of error of +/- 2.8%.

The Breakdown: Americans Who Have Had Sex on the First Date Lead to a Relationship

By gender:

  • Male: 33%
  • Female: 19%

By sexuality:

  • Straight: 24%
  • Gay: 51%

By marital status:

  • Single, Never Married: 26%
  • Married: 25%
  • Divorced: 30%

By age:

  • 18 to 24: 15%
  • 25 to 34: 30%
  • 35 to 44: 30%
  • 45 to 54: 34%
  • 54 to 64: 21%
  • 65 and older: 20%

By race:

  • White: 24%
  • African-American: 31%
  • Hispanic: 34%
  • Asian: 18%

By income:

  • Under $25,000: 25%
  • $25,000 to $49,999: 26%
  • $50,000 to $74,999: 30%
  • $75,000 to $99,999: 26%
  • $100,000 to $124,999: 27%
  • $125,000 or higher: 23%

By region:

  • Northeast: 27%
  • Midwest: 23%
  • South: 25%
  • West: 29%

Visit DatingAdvice.com/Studies for more research on dating and relationship topics.

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