London - How many lovers is too many? According to a recent British survey, 10 really is the perfect number.
Researchers found that both men and women were put off potential new partners who had had more than 10 partners – as they were seen as promiscuous.
But partners who had had less than 10 lovers were seen as inexperienced.
Both men and women said that 10 lovers was the right ‘Goldilocks’answer.
With 10 lovers, - like the porridge in the children’s fairytale - you are neither too hot nor too cold.
British dating website www.SeekingArrangement.com asked 1 000 of its members, men and women, to list how many lovers they wanted a new partner to have.
Half of all women and 46 percent of men said 10 was the perfect figure, whereas 36 percent of women and 42 percent of men said they’d prefer a date with less experience.
Eleven percent of women and 10 percent of men said between 10 and 30 was the perfect figure – with just three percent of people wanting a partner who had had more than 30 lovers.
Those polled were also asked whether they wanted to know how many lovers a new partner had had in their past.
Just 35 percent of women wanted to know a man’s total, against 65 percent who would rather not find out.
For men, only 30 percent wanted to know a woman’s sexual history, against 70 percent who said they would rather not find out.
The results give a fascinating insight into dating etiquette – and suggest men are less tolerant of promiscuity than woman.
Nikki Howarth, 26, who runs her own party planning company, said: “It is definitely a perfect 10 for me. You want to date a man who is confident and knows what he is doing sexually.
“To be good in bed, you need experience and you get that through getting to know what women want.”
Nikki, who has been on SeekingArrangement for the past year and is currently dating a businessman she met on the site, said she would never tell a man how many lovers she’d had.
She said: “Guys do often ask me but I’d rather not say – you like to keep a bit of mystery. My advice to any girl is: don’t tell, particularly if your figure is above 10. Most guys will think worse of you.”
Celebrities in the past have admitted to much more notches on their bedposts – Mick Jagger (4 000), Warren Beatty (12 775) and Russell Brand (three women a day at the height of his promiscuity).
But few female celebrities have revealed their totals.
SeekingArrangement founder Brandon Wade said: “The dating game is changing so quickly.
“I think we are all becoming a lot more tolerant and sexually adventurous.
“If we had conducted this poll 10 years ago, men would have expected a potential partner to have slept with far fewer people.
“But a gentlemen never asks a woman many men she has slept with.” – Daily Mail