\u201cMy heart is, and always will be, yours.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n
A line that has survived nearly two centuries \u2014 and still beats every modern text message hands down.<\/p>\n
Close behind is the unexpectedly tender \u201cWhen I look at you, I\u2019m home\u201d<\/strong>, spoken in Pixar\u2019s Finding Nemo, proving romance doesn\u2019t have to come wrapped in corsets and candlelight to resonate.<\/p>\n Emily Bront\u00eb\u2019s Wuthering Heights also secured its place in the nation\u2019s heart, with Catherine Earnshaw\u2019s declaration of spiritual unity \u2014 \u201cWhatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same\u201d<\/strong> \u2014 continuing to define literary passion at its most intense.<\/p>\n Cinema lovers favoured sweeping, cinematic vows too. Arwen\u2019s immortal line from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring \u2014 \u201cI would rather spend one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone\u201d<\/strong> \u2014 ranked among the UK\u2019s favourites, while romcom staples from Notting Hill, Bridget Jones\u2019s Diary and Jerry Maguire also featured prominently.<\/p>\n Poetry still holds its power. Robert Browning\u2019s hopeful \u201cGrow old along with me! The best is yet to be\u201d<\/strong> was chosen by 16% of respondents, while lines by Shakespeare, Maya Angelou, John Keats and E. E. Cummings proved that verse written centuries ago can still feel intensely personal.<\/p>\n Romance on the Page \u2014 A Dying Art?<\/p>\n Yet despite our love for beautifully written declarations, the study reveals a growing reluctance to create our own.<\/p>\n More than a third of Gen Z (35%) and over a quarter of millennials (27%) admit they have never written words of love. An overwhelming 91% agree that writing is no longer a common way to express how we feel romantically.<\/p>\n For many, it\u2019s not a lack of feeling \u2014 it\u2019s fear. Instead, modern romance has shifted formats. Among under-40s, showing love now means sending memes (37%), posting each other on Instagram (32%), making couple TikToks (28%), or even working out together \u201cfor the \u2019gram\u201d (23%).<\/p>\n And when words are required? Nearly three in ten Brits (28%) admit they\u2019ll be turning to AI to write their Valentine\u2019s message this year.<\/p>\n Still Hopeless Romantics at Heart<\/p>\n Despite all that, the appetite for romance hasn\u2019t vanished \u2014 far from it.<\/p>\n A resounding 60% of people of all ages say they would love it if their partner wrote them something personal and heartfelt.<\/p>\n
More than half (53%) say they would feel silly or awkward writing a love letter, while 22% say they simply wouldn\u2019t know where to begin.<\/p>\n
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Caroline Quentin<\/p>\n