Falling in love will cost you two close friends, an Oxford University study has found.
Participants in the study were asked how many people they had lost from their inner core of friends after entering a relationship.
Men tend to have around four or five ‘close’ friends, while women have five or six – but on average, people saw their core group of friends reduced to three once they were caught up in love, said the survey lead by Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary anthropology professor at the University.
“What I suspect happens is that your attention is so wholly focused on the romantic partner you don’t get to see these other people that you did before and those relationships deteriorate,” said Professor Dunbar.
