Do Long-Distance Relationships Actually Work?

In your youth, it’s totally natural to want to travel or experience the lifestyles of different cities or maybe even pack your bags to study abroad. 

But if you find yourself in a serious relationship, it’s not always easy to convince your S.O to join you (be it work, fam or general life commitments getting in the way.) In which case, you have two options: call it off or try a long-distance relationship.

The first option seems the logical solution, but when it’s someone special, you’ll want to do anything you can to stay together. Which begs the question, do long-distance relationships actually work? A survey has the answer. 

In new findings delivered by interactive sex toy company KIIROO, 58 per cent of participants said their long-distance romance stood the test of time.

In the survey of 1000 adults across the US, nearly six out of ten had a positive experience being part of an LDL. 

The research also helped define the meaning of the term, even putting a number on the space between partners. According to the poll, lovers needed to be 212km apart to fall into the category.

Results also showed that the four-month mark proved most challenging while if you can make it to eight months, it’s smooth sailing from there. 

That said, not all respondents had their partner move away. Half of those who answered the questionnaire met their partners online with 27 per cent starting their relationship a lengthy commute apart.  

And how do they make it work? You’ll need a mobile to start with: findings showed that on average, lovers sent each other about 343 texts per week or 49 per day while also spending about eight hours a week phoning or video chatting.  

Meanwhile, two-thirds agreed that the travel time was the most difficult part of the relationships. Three in ten missed sex the most. 

“As the world becomes more and more digitally connected and we see ourselves drifting further and further apart, the adoption of technology to forge new and better ways to communicate has become imminent,” says Toon Timmermans, CEO of KIIROO.

“We forge new relationships online more now, than ever before. From the results of this study, we see that technology in any shape or form is being used by long-distance relationships to feel closer, to feel loved and to attempt help ease sexual tensions that may arise due to the distance.”

However, sometimes space isn’t all that bad. Fifty-five per cent agreed that absence makes the heart grow fonder while 81 per cent confessed that it made the time spent together a lot more intimate. 

And turns out living far away improves communication: seven in ten talked to their partner more frequently.

Bottom line?

If you want to make your relationship work, you just need to put in the hard work. If you keep the communication up, you’ll be able to manage the distance. 

This article originally appeared on Men’s Health.

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