Over a third of Bristolians seek love more than ever post-pandemic

For the first time ever, deep dive research has been conducted in Bristol to get a full and frank understanding of the love lives in the city.

It revealed that over a third of Bristolians (37%) are more motivated to find love now than they were pre-pandemic. But over half (45%) lack confidence when it comes to getting back out there.

Top dating venues include a variety of beauty spots and trendy eateries, with The Bristol Aquarium taking number one spot in recommended places to go for a swimmingly good first date.

The Bristol Love Report is the first part of eharmony’s ‘levelling up on love’ regional agenda to support singles in local areas across the UK in their search for real relationships, and get a better understanding about the challenges they face.

The research created by OnePoll questioned both singletons and those in relationships across the Bristol region and found that almost half (45%) of Bristolians lack confidence when it comes to dating, while a third don’t feel attractive enough (31%).

​It emerged that more than a third want to settle down more now than they ever did - and one in five (22%) now want more freedom in their relationship.

Dating traits

The report also revealed the top 20 dating traits most important to Bristolians with a fifth of respondents enjoying the humorous greeting of ‘Alright me luvver’.

Rachael Lloyd, relationship expert at eharmony commented: “As summer approaches, we wanted to shine a bit of sunshine on the love lives of Bristolians and encourage them to date locally.

“We know that Bristol is a fabulous, cultured city with loads of great dating venues. Our Love Report shows that far more singles are looking for relationships now, than they were two years ago. So, we want to encourage them to get back out there and meet like-minded locals for quality dates.”

eharmony is working with Bristol-based professor, Dr Julia Carter, Senior lecturer of Sociology at UWE Bristol to help digest the data and trends.

Dr Julia Carter added: “Love, commitment and stability remain very important for couple relationships, as our findings demonstrate.

“The pandemic highlighted even more the risks inherent in contemporary society, so it is not surprising that in its aftermath, singles in Bristol are ever more conscious of insulating against risk and adversity by seeking enduring connections with others.”

The report is the launch of a Bristol focussed campaign to encourage more Bristol singles to dust off their dating shoes and embrace some summer loving.