Men fall in love faster than women, but wait longer to say those three special words, survey finds

A survey also found that most people declare their feelings to a new partner around Christmas time

A couple hold hands near the shore (LEO RAMIREZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Men appear to be shier than women when it comes to confessing their love to a new partner, but get that fuzzy feeling faster than women, according to new research.

While women typically say 'I love you' three months earlier than men, it is actually men who succumb to love sooner– on an average of two months after they begin seeing someone.

When an even split of 2,000 adult men and women who have been in relationships for at least a year were asked how quickly they fell in love with a new partner, most men said three months, while women replied five months.

Asked how soon they admitted to their partner that they were in love, women would declare their feelings at the six month mark – a month after most women said they had noticed they were in love. Meanwhile, the study suggests men are more cautious – expressing their true emotions after nine months.

Some 13 per cent of those questioned by Vouchercloud.com said that they had still not declared their love for their partner after being together for at least a year.

The problems that arise when partners don't fall in love at the same time was also tackled. Over 60 per cent of those whose partners had said those three special words first said they felt pressured to say it back, leaving 39 per cent who had not felt any additional pressure.

The study commissioned by vouchercloud.com also revealed that more than a third of people confessed to telling a partner that they loved them but did not mean it.

And 38 per cent of couples declared their love over the Christmas period, with almost a quarter stating that it had been over the summer and 19 per cent in the spring.