Brits Prefer Italian Stallions & Sexy Swedes

For centuries, many Britons have preferred the food and fashion of the continent to their own – now they prefer looking for love there too, with a new study by Orange Broadband revealing one million* of us are currently enjoying a relationship with a partner in a foreign country.

For British men, Swedish and French women are considered more desirable than our home-grown honeys. Meanwhile, for women, the promise of Italian flair surpasses British boys in the world of romance.

Almost a fifth (18 per cent) of Britons have at some stage maintained a long distance relationship with the telephone as their only link to love – couples speaking for over five hours a week on average.

Traditionally, calling abroad had a massive downside – costing couples on average up to £1,680** a year. But developments in calling over the internet have meant couples can chat for hours at end on a normal touch-tone phone, without getting charged any more than the price of their broadband package.

So there is no better time than now for getting into the international dating game, as maintaining such an international relationship costs just £1,059 a year in trips and only £19.99*** for a home broadband service such which includes unlimited landline calls to 100 international countries.

Asif Aziz, director of product management, Orange Broadband, said: “The globalisation of dating has finally occurred. With cheap flights, cheap broadband and inclusive international calls, Britons can easily create a lasting relationship with somebody from a completely different continent, let alone country.”

In fact, cost is also a reason why Brits look abroad for love, as the study also found they spend an estimated £360 each a month on the domestic dating game.

The number one reason for finding partners outside the UK is the lure of a sexy accent (15 per cent) according to the study. Other factors include the opportunity for cheap holidays to their homeland (11 per cent), the opportunity to learn a language (10 per cent) and apparent sexual prowess (eight per cent).

Tellingly, 10 per cent favour the freedom a long distance relationship enables. One in twenty (four per cent) meanwhile simply love the idea of long distance in-laws.

Preferred Countries for Men to find Love

Sweden
France
Spain
Italy
Republic of Ireland
Czech Republic
Netherlands
Scotland
Germany
Denmark

Preferred Countries for Women to find Love

Italy
Republic of Ireland
Spain
France
Wales
Greece
Sweden
Netherlands
Denmark
Switzerland

* 928,006

** The average Briton with a partner abroad speaks to them for 45.5 minutes each day. That is approximately 23 hours a month. This sum is based on standard landline calls to Italy (£5.995 an hour).

***Service offers unlimited international calls to 100 specific countries, See www.orange.co.uk for details. The home broadband package referenced gives users a maximum broadband speed of 8meg, but this can vary dependent on the distance to their local telephone exchange.