INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS
Many men downplayed their love of sports, with a large proportion professing a love of animals and the arts in a bid to appear sensitive and caring . Picture: Steve Lawrence
London - If you’ve just been on the perfect date and think your new man with a top job, interesting hobby and no ex-wife on the scene is too good to be true – he probably is.
A study has revealed that 74 percent of men bend the truth on a first date in order to make a good first impression.
Top of the list of white lies was how much money they earned and what job they did, followed by fabrications about their hobbies and interests.
Almost two thirds (63 percent) of the 700 men aged 18 to 35 who were surveyed admitted they had exaggerated their earning power when on a date with a woman they were trying to impress.
More than half said they had overstated their career prospects in the belief that it would make them more attractive to the opposite sex.
Hobbies and interests were next on the list of whoppers told, with more than half of all men polled (55 percent) saying they believed in telling women what they wanted to hear.
This meant many downplayed their love of sports, with a large proportion professing a love of animals and the arts in a bid to appear “sensitive and caring”.
Nearly a fifth of men said they had lied about the last time they did any physical exercise – with more than half of these saying they had professed a love of the gym, when in fact they weren’t even a member.
Another area where men felt they needed to be economical with the truth was their relationship status. A shocking one third of the men polled confessed they had chatted up another woman while still in a relationship.
Meanwhile, almost one in 50 said they had kept a divorce under wraps on a date, with almost half of these admitting they had also lied about not having children.
Many of the men believed it was acceptable to lie on the first date (64 percent) as they expected the woman they were meeting not to be completely honest about themselves either.
A spokesman from UK-based online casino RoxyPalace.com, which commissioned the research, said the results show that most men feel a need to deceive in a bid to appear more successful and less experienced with women.
He said: “Our findings show that most men have told a lie or two to try to impress their date – but this was more likely exaggerating or playing something down rather than a blatantly lying.
“It was particularly interesting to note that men also expected their date to be also hiding the truth on a few subjects – so ultimately it was unlikely that anybody would have a totally honest full date – which may be understandable at such an early stage of a prospective relationship.” – Daily Mail
WHAT MEN ARE MOST LIKELY TO LIE ABOUT ON A FIRST DATE
How much they earn
What job they do
How many relationships they’ve had before
Their hobbies and interests
Their love of football
Whether they’ve been married/had children
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