Valentine's Day: One in 12 married men will be giving gifts to women other than their wives

It looks set to be a secretive 14 February for some married couples

(AFP/Getty Images)

Romance is not dead for many this Valentine's Day - but it may be misdirected, the results of a survey are suggesting, one in 12 married men said they will be bestowing gifts this 14 February on women who are not their wives.

Women may also have amorous intentions aimed in the wrong direction, as one in 16 wives told a survey they planned to send gifts to people other than their husbands.

A study conducted by FindMeAGift.co.uk polled a total of 1,798 married adult men and women, all of whom were still in a relationship with their spouse.

It found married men are most likely to send gifts to another female in the work place, whereas women remained vague on the subject and said their gifts would be sent to "a male friend".

More than half of all people are not planning on admitting to their partners that they are purchasing a Valentine's gift for someone else.

Despite their secrecy, 77 per cent insisted their gift-giving is merely an innocent gesture, and 32 per cent added they had been given permission from their partners to do so.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most popular gifts were as unoriginal as ever with chocolates, champagne and flowers topping the list. Husbands who were actually planning on indulging their spouses said they planned to buy them flowers (47 per cent), chocolates (32 per cent) and a restaurant meal (26 per cent).

In contrast, almost half (42 per cent) of married women said their gift would come in the form of a ‘special home cooked meal’.

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Doctors have also been warned they may face "unwanted advances" in the lead up to Valentine's Day, with the Medical Defence Union advising doctors to take extra care to maintain professional boundaries with their patients to avoid becoming the object of "inappropriate affections".