Celebrity mathematician Rachel Riley has teamed up with eHarmony experts to find simple ways to increase the odds of finding love. So, we caught up with her to find out why maths plays such an important part in finding the one. 

Relationships on Female First

Relationships on Female First

Please tell us about the Odds of Love Campaign you’ve been working with alongside eHarmony?

Sure – I’ve been working with the experts at eHarmony to mathematically work out our chances of finding love if left entirely down to fate. We actually worked out that the odds on average, are one in 562. This means that you’re more likely to give birth to identical twins or see Simon Cowell become Prime Minister!

Why did you want to work with them on this project?

This project incorporates one of the most important things in life – love and one of my favourite topics, which is maths so when I heard about it I couldn’t say no.

Had you ever thought to apply maths to love before to help other people?

I love maths and I think there’s a way that you can apply it to almost everything, from curing cancer to finding love!

Why is love just a numbers game?

It’s actually finding love which is more of a numbers game. If you’re picky about who you want to be with, mathematically, you have smaller chance of finding the one. The average UK single looks for a partner between 35 and 47, and we worked out that this leaves them with just 17% of the population as an option.

Why do you think people get too prescriptive about things such as age, location, looks and pet preferences?

A lot of the time these pre-conciveved ideologies of who our perfect partner is stems from what we or the people around us think would stereotypically fit us. Also, we naturally look for what’s most convenient for us. For example, people don’t want to travel far to see a partner but who knows what you could be missing out on. Being just a little more open minded could make all the difference when it comes to finding love.

Why can making simple changes to daily routines help you to find love?

It’s all in the maths. Going to the gym increases your odds by 15% and taking up a new hobby can increase your chances by 13%.

Why do things get easier with age?

As we got older we get less picky and we put less focus on a partner’s looks or age. The average 18-24 year old has one in 1024 chance but the odds for 65-74 year olds are one in 304 so you can see the difference!

What is next for you?

I’m currently still working on Countdown and 8 Out of 10 Cats which I enjoy so much!