The infuriatingly clichéd assumption that single women must desperately be seeking a partner, while their male counterparts contentedly enjoy their independence, can finally be put to bed. A recent study proves that women are actually happier single than men.

The study by data analysts Mintel found that 61 per cent of single women are happy being single, versus 49 per cent of single men, reports the Telegraph.

Professor Emily Grundy of the University of Essex told the newspaper that the reason this may be the case is that women tend to work harder in relationships. "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," said Grundy.



She added that women often form stronger bonds with friends than men and that this provides a support network that men may not as commonly have. "Certainly there's a finding from a lot of studies that women who don't have a partner tend to do more social activities and have 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," said Grundy. Men may find themselves lonelier when not in a relationship.

While the study found that the happiness upper hand was the case across women of all ages, it was particularly strong among women over 45. While 32 per cent of single women aged between 45 and 65 were very happy alone, the same was true of just 19 per cent of men of the same age.

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