Study finds many not 'with the love of their life'

73% polled said they're 'making do'

A new study finds as many as one in seven people may be in a relationship with someone who is not "the love of their life."

Researchers polled nearly 2,000 adults during a three-day opera festival in Europe.
They found 73 percent of people say they're "making do" with their relationship because their "true love" got away.  One quarter of those polled said they were in love with two people at the same time, while 17 percent admitted meeting "the love of their life" after getting together with their long-term partner.

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Researchers concede the majority of those polled claimed to be head over heels for their current partner, even if he/she was not their true love.

"There's a percentage of people who end up marrying folks who aren't the love of their life and even that being the case most of those couples actually can make it," explained Dr. Scott Bea, a clinical psychologist with Cleveland Clinic. "So, I think it's kind of uplifting because there may be other things that keep relationships together."

Bea did not take part in the study but suggest to people who think they are stuck in a "make-do" relationship to look at the glass as half-full.

"I'd encourage people who might find themselves in that one in seven number to actually feel good about it because any relationship that lasts is going to go through difficult times and you may be staying for better reasons than you think." said Bea. "You might actually consider the good reasons for staying and not necessarily the fact that you're enduring or the things you thought that you were missing."

Bea says to celebrate your wins as a couple rather than focusing on the losses in your life.