Men fall in love faster

Soppy guys fall in love faster and more often than women, new research suggests.

Most men say they know whether they are in love after just one date and the rest are likely to know within three.

Nearly a quarter said they had believed in love at first sight and knew whether a girl was "the one" within seconds.

Women, on the other hand, are more indecisive on the issue, consulting with friends and family and waiting at least a month before making their mind up.

The research shows that the average man falls in love just over three times compared to the average women who says she has only been in love once.

But while they may fall in love more easily men also get their heart broken more often with more men claiming to having loved someone who didn’t love them back.

"I was surprised at all this evidence that men fall further and faster in love, more often, than women do.  I'd have guessed women were more in love with love than men were, but it seems I’m wrong," according to Elizabeth Noble, bestselling author of The Way We Were.

"I've been in love more than once, and had my heart seriously broken (shattered, even) before I met my husband.  If you’re lucky, you have fond memories of first loves, but even if you’ve been damaged, I’d argue you learn, and take things forward into future relationships that can make those work better and stay stronger."

Men were more likely to say "I love you" first and were also more likely than women to pine after their first love.

Both sexes agreed that their first love was the one they took the longest to get over and one in four said they didn’t think they would ever fully recover from the heartbreak their first love caused them.

Men are also more likely to regret splitting up with their first girlfriend and to think that they were happier with their first love than they are now.

A quarter think about their first love at least once a week and those that are still searching for the right partner are more likely to reminisce than anyone else.

Meanwhile women were more likely to be happy with the decisions they have made and more realistic about how happy they were in the first place.

Although women were more likely to try and track their ex-partner down over the internet and keep track on him and who he is dating.

"It's much easier than it used to be to track down people from your past, using Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media," Noble points out.

"That doesn't mean it's always a good idea!  I was in a good place in my present life and relationship when I met up with an old boyfriend, who had recognized my author picture in a novel, and tracked me down. It was incredibly interesting, and fun, to meet up, see him in the flesh, and find out where his life had taken him.  Not all those stories have such happy, simple endings though."