When it comes to the perfect partner, most woman would rather go for someone with ‘average’ looks than a 10/10, new research suggests.
According to a YouGov study, just 7 per cent of women want to date a ‘perfect ten’.
But most just over a quarter said their ideal lover would score a ‘five’ on the attractiveness scale – the most popular rating.
Unsurprisingly perhaps, men are more focussed on looks when it comes to relationships.
Women would rather go for somebody with average looks than a 10 out of 10 according to a YouGov study
Around one in five said their ideal relationship would be with an ‘eight’, according to The Telegraph.
The research comes at a time when the humble ‘dad bod’ has become increasingly sought after.
But dating experts suggested that women are more likely to become insecure dating partners with model-like looks.
This is because they fear a ‘perfect ten’ could attract too much attention from other women.
Just over half of men and women who responded to the survey said they were ‘punching above their weight’ and believed their partner was more attractive than them.
Lucy Beresford, a sex and relationships expert for radio station LBC, said: ‘For men, it’s more that the person they’re with in a way reflects on their own attractiveness.
‘If they had a partner who was attractive that’s more because men almost want to see the person as a trophy, whether it’s male or female, they want to feel that people are looking at them and thinking ‘wow, he must be really cool to attract someone so attractive’.
‘For women, physical attractiveness is not the only deal, there’s also a slight anxiety that if your male partner is unbelievably good looking, you’d have to deal with loads of other woman coming on to him.’ But even men appear to be intimidated by partners who are too good-looking.
The most popular choices across both genders were five, seven and eight out of ten.
Dating expert Susan Quilliam told The Telegraph: ‘Several pieces of research show that having a very attractive partner makes people feel a bit insecure – so think if you’re very, very, very attractive then you might wander off and find someone else.
Dating expert Susan Quilliam says having a very attractive partner can make people insecure
‘There is a myth about very attractive people being entitled and it’s understandable that people would think a very, very very attractive partner would be harder to keep hold of and harder to be around.’ Interestingly, respondents who rated themselves as more attractive, were more likely to say they wanted a partner with a high rating on the attractive scale.
The research also revealed that one in three British people rate themselves as being ‘above average’ in the looks stakes, with just twenty percent believing they fall in the bottom half of the population.
However most respondents believe they are a solid ‘five’ with 50 per cent giving themselves the average rating.
The men and women who were more likely to say they were better looking than their partner rated themselves as a nine out of ten.
Thirty-five per cent of self-reporting ‘nines’ said they were the more attractive person in the relationship.