One true love: Survey says men fall in love more times than women

Nearly half of women have only fallen in love once, according to ice cream researchers

Lily Collins and Sam Claflin in 'Love, Rosie'

Men fall in love more times in their life than women, according to a new survey.

Häagen-Dazs ice cream and The School of Life asked 2,000 adults about relationships, and discovered that more than half of men say they've loved more than one person their lifetime.

For women, it's markedly fewer, with only 45 per cent saying they've had multiple loves.

On the other hand, more female respondents, around 47 per cent, claimed to have had just one love; 39 per cent of men said the same.

5 per cent of each gender said they've never fallen head over heels, but most of these were under 24 and expressed hope that they still had time to do so.

The study, which should probably be taken with a pinch of salt, revealed how romantic Britons actually are, and how old fashioned.

Three quarters of respondents say they believe in one true love, but most don't think they'll find it on Tinder.

Only 3 per cent say a relationship begins at coitus, a third say it starts when you meet their family, and around 20 per cent say the signifier is the words 'I love you'.

Lucy Beresford from School of Life said: "It was refreshing to see that real love still exists and isn't all about physical attraction, but rather real values such as honesty.

"It's a shame to see that our busy lifestyles often act as an obstacle to spontaneity which really can keep a relationship alive."

This survey sort of backs up what was found in a similar study two years ago by Siemens Festival Nights.

The 2,000 people polled on that occasion most often said they had fallen in love twice, and quite depressingly that they had 'settled' for their current partner.