Almost one in four women have turned down at least one proposal during their life, study has revealed.
Fears the proposer wasn’t the one, ‘it didn’t feel right’ or that they didn’t think their partner was taking the proposal seriously enough are among the most common reasons for saying no.
Others even said they have rejected a proposal because they thought it was nothing more than a joke.
But, 23 per cent of people who have declined a proposal admitted they’d regretted the decision later on.
It also emerged 59 per cent of men feel nervous at the prospect of proposing to their partner, with 15 per cent admitting that the thought made them break out in a cold sweat.
One man even recorded his own heart rate leading up to, during and after proposing during a break to Rome, with his pulse spiking at 131 beats a minute as he got down on one knee.
A spokesperson for travel firm, SuperBreak, who commissioned the research, said: “We realize that proposing is a big decision for most people and the survey results clearly show this.
“It can take a long time to pluck up the courage to pop the question and to not hear the answer you are hoping for can be difficult.
“And it seems many women will turn down a proposal simply because it wasn’t done in the way they were hoping.
“So if you are planning to propose, make sure you have an idea of what your partner would like and hopefully you will be celebrating hearing ‘yes’.
“After looking at the results of our research and interviewing some experts, we took the decision to create a proposal planner that will hopefully provide inspiration on when, where and how you can propose to make the event really special; from picking the perfect destination to ideas on how you can pop the question.”
The study of 2,000 Brits found not being certain you are with the one is the most common reason for turning down a marriage proposal, following by it not feeling right, not wanting to get married and not believing their partner really meant it.
Others turned down a proposal because they didn’t feel like they had been in a relationship long enough, they had recently split and the proposal was simply a way to win them back and being worried about what others would think.
Concerns about whether they could afford to get married, believing the proposal was a joke and feeling like their partner wasn’t taking it seriously completed the top ten.
But 37 per cent of women have received at least two proposals in their lifetime, with 12 percent being asked for their hand in marriage 3 times.
Almost one in twenty have heard the words “will you marry me?” four times or more.
And 29 per cent of women would turn down their partner just on the basis of the proposal itself being poor.
But while the majority of women are romantics, with 52 per cent wanting the traditional ‘down on one knee’ proposal, 20 per cent would like an ‘all-singing, all-dancing’ proposal.
Another 15 per cent would prefer a proposal which is slightly more unusual and unique to them.
It also emerged just 22 per cent of men actually planned to, or did, spend the traditional two months’ salary on a ring for their partner.
And one in ten men don’t intend to spend a great amount on a ring saying that they ‘don’t see the need for a ring.’
The study found the most romantic destinations for proposing to a partner are Paris, Venice and Rome.
For those looking to propose closer to home; the Lake District was deemed most popular, with Scottish locations also being rated highly.
Top ten reasons for turning down a marriage proposal
1. I wasn’t certain they were the one
2. It just didn’t feel right
3. I don’t/didn’t want to get married
4. It didn’t feel like they meant it
5. I didn’t think we’d been in a relationship long enough
6. We’d already split up and they were trying to win me back
7. I was worried about what other people would think
8. I didn’t think we could afford it
9. I thought it was a joke
10. I didn’t think my partner was taking it seriously enough
ENDS
