JUST FRIENDS

Love the clichéd romantic tale of two strangers meeting, experiencing an instant spark of attraction and falling head-over-heels for each other? In reality, it’s pretty uncommon.

That’s because two-thirds of people*** say their current romantic relationship began platonically, and this percentage is higher in married couples.

Only a small amount of those in socalled ‘friends-first initiation’ relationships reported having been sexually attracted to each other in the early days – and a huge 70% said that came later.

The study also found establishing a friendship first was by far people’s favourite way to get to know a future spouse, with only a tiny 0.3% saying they would opt for a blind date.

So, while bouquets and boxes of chocolates sometimes do come first, in reality most couples genuinely start out as just friends, and desire develops over the months and years that follow. We won’t let this stop us enjoying that romcom, though!