Study finds the average time it takes to say 'I love you' in a new relationship
One of the biggest milestones in any new relationship is when you and your partner say ‘I love you’ to each other for the first time.
Yet, being the first person to say it can be a nerve-wracking experience, especially if you’re not certain the other person feels the same way back.
If you’re worried you might be saying ‘I love you’ too soon, a new study has found the average length of time it takes for people to confess their love.
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The study of 3,109 adults from Australia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, France, Poland and the UK, was published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships and found that men are more likely to say ‘I love you’ first compared to women.
On average, men say ‘I love you’ 107 days, or three and a half months, into a new relationship, the researchers from Abertay University in Dundee found.
In contrast, women tend to say those three words after 122 days, or four months, into a new relationship.
Men were also found to be the first to think about telling their partner they love them, with thoughts of love appearing after 69 days together, compared to 77 days for women.
The research comes after a study from Censuswide released earlier this year found that 26.2% of the 2,000 British respondents said they told their other half they loved them within the first three to four months of their relationship.
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A fifth of these respondents (20.4%), said they confessed their feelings after just one to two months, while 19.4% said ‘I love you’ between five to six months after meeting their partner.
Just one in 10 people (1.07%) said ‘I love you’ within one to three weeks of meeting their significant other, while 0.5% said it in less than a week of knowing them.
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Nearly one in 10 people (8.8%) took seven months to declare their feelings, while 2.9% took nine months, 5.5% waited 11 months, and 0.4% said it after one year together.
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