Return of the Ex! Would You Date a Lookalike?!

This week I’ve been talking a lot about the types of people we date.  I was asked to appear on Woman’s Hour, to talk about the way dating sites ask us to select the skin tone of the people we date.  And on Time Out this week, I’ve been discussing the science behind us being attracted to people who look like us.  However there’s another interesting area of attraction, which also applies to the idea of having a ‘set type’.  If you do have a specific ‘type’ of ideal date, does that mean you’re attracted to lookalikes of your ex?

Personally, when I look back over my last 5 or 6 boyfriends, whilst there are certain traits they share in common, if you lined them up beside each other, it would be hard to specify my ‘type’.  I’ve dated men of all shapes and sizes.  Yes, there are a couple of things I tend to look for, physically, but I don’t think any of the guys look facially alike.

However, last year in the States, match.com joined up with matchmaking agency Three Day Rule – and one of TDR’s ‘unique’ matching algorithm is based on peoples’ face shape.  It’s certainly worth googling – if anything, just for the funny comparisons that American journalists made with famous people they apparently looked like.  But as someone who dated way out of her comfort zone, and learned a lot in the process, I would certainly limiting your dating options to a particular hair colour or face shape!

If anything, if you’ve just come out of a particularly difficult break up, or you dated someone a long time, a facial resemblance in your new partner could be pretty dangerous!  You don’t want them to feel like they’re a rebound, and you don’t necessarily need the constant reminders of your ex.  Not to mention the awkwardness of referring to a new partner by your old partner’s name!!!

Miss Twenty-Nine xxx