But despite such high statistics, some are still finding it rather difficult to embrace this new-found way of finding the ‘one’.

Case in point, I recently accompanied a friend to her colleague’s wedding. My friend works with the bride who is Nigerian while the groom is Caucasian/British. The wedding was fairly uneventful in places, the usual ‘uhing’ and ‘ahing’ at the sight of the couple kissing, as is customary at weddings. However, things seemed to take a somewhat comical turn when the best man took to the microphone to give the traditional best man speech. I couldn’t help noticing that most of the ladies on my table were giggling. “The guy is funny but not that funny” , I thought to myself. It was on the drive home that my friend revealed the reason behind the giggles.

Apparently the bride had told all her friends that she met her husband at a training session in Manchester, only for the best man to ‘cobalise’ her by revealing that they had actually met via an internet dating website. The insults from all the girls in the car were unstoppable. “What type of loser meets a man online”, one asked, “the desperate, fat and ugly type” another replied followed by shrieks of laughter from the others. I remained silent. You see, I couldn’t help thinking to myself that everyone in this car was in their very late twenties and single (except me). And seeing as we had just returned from their supposed friend’s wedding, maybe the real losers where actually sitting in the same car with me. Although the thought did give me secret reasons to chuckle, it also set my mind racing. What exactly is wrong with Internet dating? Are Internet daters losers? What kind of people actually use online dating sites?

Now I have always been the inquisitive type. So for your reading pleasure, I have decided to do some undercover investigation. Yes, I have done the unthinkable and registered with an online dating web site. Yes, yes, I can hear you all screaming now, “how could she?”, “she must be desperate!”. Regardless of your personal opinions, I think this will go some way in dispelling, or reinforcing some of the myths that have been floating around regarding Internet dating. However seeing as I am in a relationship, I had to set some ground rules!

So with these ground rules in place, I went about my business and registered with 2 of the most popular Internet dating websites in the UK. I filled in the forms as honestly as I could and yes, I used my real picture. The only lie I told was my name….Bella Woods!!! Anyhoo, after a couple of weeks of emailing back and forth, 4 different guys had asked me to meet them for coffee. Now my man was quick to point out that our initial agreement was for 3 dates only. So I had to choose. And seeing as I felt he had been more than understanding about my little experiment, I decided not to push my luck!!

Date 3: Mr Architect

…and I shall as usual report back with all the juicy details …wish me luck!!!!!