Some of us get bitten by the love bug very early on in relationships—others take longer to decide. Either way, many people are prone to anxiety over exactly when to say the L word. How much time is normal to wait?
To find out how rapidly different aspects of relationships evolve, Match surveyed over 2,000 British men and women about saying "I love you" and other love milestones, like sleeping together and becoming Facebook official.
It turns out the average amount of time to wait before saying "I love you" is five months. That's is also the time when couples change their social media statuses to make their relationships public. (When your heart is bursting with affection for someone, you want the world to see.)
But couples aren't waiting for the ultimate declaration to sleep together: 27 percent wait just a week or two. For some, holding hands even comes *after *a couple's first time in bed—34 percent said they'd wait one or two weeks to engage in that kind of PDA. People are also introducing their significant others to their friends well before the five-month mark, with 60 percent saying they do so within the first month.
The later stages of relationships generally happen quickly, with the study reporting the average couple gets engaged after two years, gets married after three, and starts a family after four.
In case you're wondering when this all will happen for you, Match found that the average age people met their partners was 25 for women and 28 for men. But if you're past that and still single, there's nothing to stress over: Though age 25 was the average, only half of participants met their partners in their 20s.