Twice in a lifetime: quantifying passionate love in U.S. single adults

Passionate love is widely considered a hallmark of romantic relationships and a central component of adult development. While the onset and psychological impacts of passionate love have been well-studied, little is known about how frequently individuals experience passionate love in their lifetime. In this study, we quantified the number of passionate love experiences reported by 10,036 single U.S. adults aged 18 to 99, and examined how the number of passionate love experiences varied by gender, age, and sexual orientation. On average, participants had experienced passionate love twice in their lifetime, while 14% had never experienced it. Older adults and men reported slightly more experiences of passionate love than did younger adults and women, respectively. Notably, the only significant sexual orientation difference emerged in an interaction: heterosexual men reported more passionate love experiences than did heterosexual women. These findings expand the empirical application of Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love by illustrating population-level distributions of passion across diverse individuals and life stages. These findings have practical implications for relationship science and intervention, and call for further research exploring nuances that underpin variations in propensities for passionate love.