So that knotted feeling in the stomach when you first spot the person you want to share the rest of your life with is not the real thing, according to researchers. True love is a "combination of passion, intimacy¹ and commitment" which does not kick in until about 12 months into a relationship.

A study of 147 couples who met through online dating agency Match.com found that 61 per cent had high levels of the three components² - and most had been together a year. Around 16 per cent experienced "companionate love", with intimacy and commitment but not much passion. Those who had just met or had not been together long were going through what the researchers from Bath University called non-love, with low levels of all three ingredients.

Study chief Dr Jeff Gavin said: "To date there has been no systematic³ study of relationships formed online. Love is an important predictor of success, stability and relationship satisfaction. It is a multi-faceted concept."

　　中文：

　　英国巴斯大学研究人员称，或许当第一眼看见你愿意与其共度余生的人后你会产生心动的感觉，但这种感觉是不真实的。真爱是“激情、亲昵和承诺的结合体”，而这些真爱成分在一场维持不到12个月的恋爱关系中是得不到的。

　　研究人员对147对通过网上婚介所认识的恋人进行了调查研究。结果发现，有61％的恋爱关系中上述3种真爱成分很高，而这些恋人大部分人都已相处了1年。约16％的人维持着“伙伴式的爱情”，他们之间有“亲昵”和“承诺”，但没有太多“激情”。而研究人员称，那些刚在一起的恋人之间没有爱，因为他们之间的真爱成分太低。

　　研究负责人杰夫-加文博士指出：“到目前为止，还没有关于网恋的系统研究。爱是预示着人成功、稳定和满意关系的重要因素。它是一个多面的概念。”