Finding love is all down to luck: We only have a 1 in 562 chance of meeting The One on our own

IF you’re looking for true love, you’d be wise not to leave it to fate.

For a study suggests that those who do – simply hoping the universe will bring them and their perfect partner together – have only a one in 562 chance of success.

Fortunately, the chances improve from that overall average as you get older. While there is a one in 1,024 chance of 18 to 24year- olds finding the perfect match, it is one in 304 for 65 to 74-year-olds.

The research identifies a number of steps you can take to increase your odds of finding The One.

These include going to the gym, which not only improves your health but boosts your chances of meeting your true love by 15 per cent, the study found. Thinking further afield also helps, apparently. So if you are prepared to look beyond a ten-mile radius of your home, your odds increase by 13 per cent for each mile. Socialising with colleagues and their friends, meanwhile, improves your chances by 16 per cent, and joining online dating services by 17 per cent. To reach their conclusions, the team identified 18 key factors such as desired age, physical attractiveness and location to work out the number of romantic options for people looking for love. They found that among the adult population, only 84,440 people in the UK fit the average person’s romantic requirements. The findings, from the University of Bath and the dating website eHarmony, suggest many daters reduce their odds with strict requirements. For instance, ruling out potential suitors based on age is a significant factor and the study suggests being less prescriptive would help more find love. Professor Andreas Kyprianou, a probability expert at the University of Bath, said: ‘This is fascinating research which takes into account the many different variables that can contribute to the odds of finding love.’