ONE WAY STREET: NEARLY A THIRD OF COUPLED UP BRITS CURRENTLY SUFFERING FROM UNREQUITED LOVE
- 19% of Brits are in love with someone who doesn’t love them back, rising to 29% of those in relationships
- Men are 7% more likely to experience unrequited love than women
- A quarter of Brits have ‘accidentally’ bumped into someone they fancy
As we prepare for Bridgerton’s Penelope to finally break out of the friendzone with Colin in the upcoming season, a new study reveals that nearly a third (29%) of Brits currently in relationships are suffering from unrequited love – ouch.
The study, by Paddy Power Bingo, asked the nation to spill their experiences of unrequited love, the act of having romantic feelings for someone who doesn’t feel the same way, and the embarrassing lengths they would go to for their crush. Just as Pen has adored Colin with nothing in return, the study revealed that over two thirds (67%) of Brits have experienced unrequited love, with 19% currently in love with someone who isn’t reciprocating.
Surprisingly, this curse is not exclusive to singletons, as 17% of married Brits and 14% of those living with their partner report that their relationship is either one sided, or their feelings are for somebody else – a tragedy of the highest order!
Despite years of viewing women as sole sufferers of the unrequited curse, men were found to be 7% more likely to suffer a one-sided love (71% vs 64%). However, true to stereotypes, nearly half (47%) of women who have experience unrequited love admit to crying themselves to sleep over their unreturned affection.
Unsurprisingly, unrequited love is causing the nation to feel lonely (44%), embarrassed (37%) and rejected (36%) but the good news is that 11% of sufferers feel hopeful that their crush will change their mind and 11% feel empowered that they can get through anything after suffering this, the worst of fates.
To dive further into the tragedy of unrequited love, the study asked the nation about the cunning, and let’s face it often embarrassing, tactics they have employed to attract the attention of their crush.
Top five tactics people used to attract their crush
| Rank | Tactic | % of people who reported using this tactic |
| 1st | Accidentally bumped into them someplace I knew they would be | 23% |
| 2nd | Walk past their house in the hopes of seeing them | 20% |
| 3rd | Picking up a new hobby because they do it | 12% |
| =4th | Sent them an unexpected gift | 11% |
| =4th | Sent them a message and pretended it was for someone else | 11% |
| 5th | Made something a personality trait after hearing they also like it | 10% |
Paddy Power Bingo spokesperson Rachael Kane said: “At Paddy Power, we were disheartened to hear that so many people are experiencing a rejection of their affections but hope that the new season of Bridgerton will help to dish out some well needed hope for all of those experiencing one-sided love.
“If Pen can finally be with Colin, then any of the 12 million Brits currently experiencing unrequited love have a chance at their happily-ever-afters and we wish them the best of luck!”