Study: These Kinds of First Dates Are Most Likely to Lead to Marriage

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To all of our lovely readers out there who have yet to find The One (as in a soulmate, not The Dress), or who fancy themselves a professional matchmaker in their spare time, we’ve got some news that we think you’ll find very interesting—it may also change the way you approach the dating scene from now on.

As it turns out, all of that pressure you put on yourself to plan impressive, creative, activity-filled first dates is completely unnecessary—especially if you want your relationship to last for the long term.

This is all according to a new study from PlentyOfFish that says simple first dates are most likely to lead to marriage. The dating site polled 1,100 former users who are now married and found that over 65 percent of them went on low-key first dates—think dinner, coffee or drinks—with the person they later married.

The reasoning? Minimalistic activities limit distractions, so you’re able to focus on the conversation and the connection between you and your date. When your attention is geared towards the other person, instead of whatever activity you two are doing, you get a much better feel for whether or not there’s an attraction.

So much less stressful, right? Let’s all agree to save the extravagant dates for later on in the relationship.

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