Sex, Lies, and Online Dating Pt. 5

Safeguarding Your Love Life – Part 5

The Crazy Things We Do For Love
Romantic love has been around since time immemorial. Epic accounts of romance and ancient love have endured and captivated us for millenniums. Historical and literary legends such as Romeo and Juliet, Cleopatra and Mark Antony, Lancelot and Guinevere or Tristan and Isolde — Orpheus and Eurydice or Napoleon and Josephine – these are timeless and immortal. They resonate with us. They stir and enthrall us. They bear the same relevancy– are as compelling, and possess the same passion and truth even centuries after the fact, because one thing remains constant: The proverbial heart does not change. Humankind always has, and always will be in love.

Throughout the ages romantic love has not waned. It is an ever present, powerful, driving force that is as fundamental to our existence as air and water. It is not mere whimsy. It is a deep-seated and prevailing need. It inspires us. It compels us.  It is by far one of the most potent sensations known to mankind.

Humans have been known to do almost anything in the name of love.  They write poetry. They compose music. They fight. They kill. They die for love. And then there are all of the other crazy things they do. In 2005 Match.com conducted on online survey in the UK asking people to reveal some of the craziest things they have done for love.¹ The results, while at times ludicrous, were perhaps not all that surprising either.  After all, who hasn’t done something ridiculous in the name of romance?

82% of men said that they buy new clothes before a first date, 71% get a haircut, 28% iron when they don’t usually, and 29% admit to checking for fluff in their belly button. Women preferred to play it cooler. 45% admitted to changing their clothes 50 times only to later claim to have just thrown on any old thing. A surprising 33% of women said they never go on a date without wearing their lucky pants as did 28% of men.

When it comes to bringing a date home for the first time, 5% of men admitted to bringing their mothers in to clean. 54% changed the sheets for the first time in ages, while 48% always make sure there’s toilet paper on the roll. 13% of women say they hide all their ‘Best of the 80s’ CDs and replace them with Oasis and Coldplay, and a startling 11% admitted to redecorating before he comes over for the first time.

Match.com’s relationship expert, Judi James explained, “In the early stages of a relationship we find it very hard to suppress the ‘Pleaser’ within. This is where love makes emotions take over from logic and we feel a desire to do anything to gain approval. We often try to suppress this by playing it cool, which is an active attempt to redress behaviors we recognize to be daft. However the ‘pleaser’ within still takes over now and again.”

Apparently both sexes believe that the secret to successful seduction lies in planning. The survey revealed both men (64%) and women (57%) buy new underwear before a date, and 5% say they practice taking off their clothes sexily in front of the bathroom mirror. 36% of women confessed to getting out of bed to put on a new face of makeup and brush their teeth before their partner even wakes up. 48% of men pre-plan their seduction strategy before leaving the house, and 12% say they purchased a women’s magazine for advice and sex tips. Women are little more last minute. 29% say they’ve shaved their legs in a hurry before getting intimate.

Apparently new love carries more than just a monetary price tag. Almost one third of women said that on entering a new relationship they braved wearing a thong. 20% admitted to brushing up on their beau’s favorite football team, while 37% admitted to sitting through his favorite war movie merely feigning interest. 33% of men said they have endured hours of interrogation by their partners’ girlfriends, and one third said they have sat through a chick flick and pretended that Hugh Grant is a great actor. Both men (12%) and women (16%) have exchanged love for cigarettes and given up smoking.

We all know love makes us a little crazy. But what is this crazy thing we call love?  What happens to us to make us act so silly – or as the old song goes – to make “me act so funny, make me spend my money, make me feel real loose like a long necked goose…”?² Researchers are learning more about the complexities of love every day, and the findings are nothing short of fascinating. We here at Spokeo were anxious to hear more about what they have to say. In the meantime, however, we would be remiss not to mention that, in addition to buying new underwear, getting ready for your date by checking them out with a people-search engine like Spokeo might give you just the kind of leg up that you were looking for — possibly even greater than checking your bellybutton for lint. TO BE CONTINUED…

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¹https://www.pressbox.co.uk/detailed/Consumer/Survey_Reveals_The_Silly_Things_People_Do_For_Love_46360.html
²Chantilly Lace – The Big Bopper