A survey by Mintel, which analysed single lifestyles in the UK, found that 61% of single women are happy being single, versus 49% of single men.

The survey also found that 75% of single women have not actively looked for a relationship in the last year, compared to 65% of single men.

Professor Emily Grundy of the University of Essex believes that the reason for this contentment to stay single is that relationships prove to be too much work for women.

“There’s evidence that women spend longer on domestic tasks than men and I think they also do more emotional work - so they still do more housework and cooking and things as well as more emotional labour,” Grundy told The Telegraph.

In addition to the traditionally more labour-intensive role of women in relationships, the fact that women typically have a stronger social support network outside of a relationship makes the single life far more attractive to women than it does to men, says Grundy.

“Certainly there’s a common finding from a lot of studies that women who don’t have a partner tend to do more social activities and more friends compared to women with partners whereas with men it’s the reverse – men without a partner tend to do much less of that.”

Two thirds of women are choosing to stay single for this surprising reason