This Valentine’s Day, we’re celebrating the language of luuurve.. Whether that’s a simple ‘I love you’, inside jokes with your special someone, or your own personal language of romance, we’re all about expressing your love this time of year. While we’ve got tons of brilliant Valentine’s Day cards (if we do say so ourselves) for you to tell your partner how you feel, we wanted to find out more about how the UK express themselves when it comes to romance. Read on to find out more of our research and what we found about Brit’s love lives…
How long do Brits take to say ‘I love you’?
Not to get all smushy top 40 pop ballad on you, but there’s nothing like hearing ‘I love you’ for the first time – and obviously it’s even better if your paramour actually say it back. We were curious how long it took for our respondents to get romantic – and it turns out that we’re pretty speedy here in the UK to skip to whispering sweet nothings. 19% of Brits said ‘I love you’ within just a month of meeting their partner for the first time, closely followed by 18% who said it after 3 months. While romcoms might make it look like falling in love happens at first sight, we’re surprised it’s quite that quick – but the heart wants what it wants, as they say.
What does ‘I love you’ mean to you?
No matter how long it takes to start saying I love you to your other half, the emotion it elicits is going to be the same – right? Well, actually, 35% of the people we asked said that they don’t feel emotional if their partner tells them that they love them. When you factor in the fact that 42% agreed that ‘I wish my partner would show or tell me that they love me more often’, it looks like we’ve got a love imbalance in the UK. But are there other ways of saying ‘I love you’ without actually saying it?
You’re speaking my (love) language
We did some research into love languages; the innate and secret ways we show our loved ones how much we value them. Everyone has their own love language. What’s a love language, you ask? Well, it’s a nice way of explaining your favourite way for your romantic partner to express their affections. It’s something intrinsically part of you, and everyone’s can be different.
For example, your love language might be physical touch, in which case you’d have something in common with 63% of Brits who show their love through tickles, hair stroking, hugs – and, obviously, doing the… horizontal tango.
Or maybe your love language is words of affirmation, along with 53% of the British public – that could mean something overtly romantic like love letters or mushy text messages, but for lots of people it just means making sure that you’re actively listening and encouraging your partner.
Almost half of our respondents also valued spending quality time, which isn’t a massive surprise – but for 48% of people, the most romantic thing their partner can do is just to make time for them. And don’t just assume that means sweeping them away to a secluded cabin for some “quality time”, wink wink nudge nudge. Quality time might just mean making sure you have an hour together every day where you’re not looking at your phone, or taking time to talk about your day over dinner.
The next love language is acts of service. That means things like making sure you’re doing your share of the chores (and not whinging about it) or doing something thoughtful like bringing them breakfast in bed, or picking up their favourite treat on the way home from work when they’ve had a rough day. 32% of the British public are all about acts of service like this.
You might be surprised at the last category – just 21% of the public picked giving and receiving gifts as their love language, despite lovey-dovey gifts like flowers and chocolates being the first thing most of us think of when it comes to Valentine’s Day. But if your partner’s love language is gifts, then make sure you get them the best, with a thoughtful thortful gift and a card (see what we did there?).
- Physical touch: 63%
- Words of affirmation: 53%
- Spending quality time: 48%
- Acts of service: 32%
- Gifts: 21%
So, there you have it – an insight into how Brits love, and how they show and share all of those squishy romantic feelings. If you’re looking for a way to tell your special someone your feelings this Valentine’s Day, then check out some romantic Valentine’s day cards to sweep them off their feet. For more swoonworthy ideas, check out some more Valentine’s ideas from the thortful blog, including what to write in a Valentine’s Day card.
