There was a time when falling in love rhymed with fusion. In 2025, this model will run out of steam. According to the new Dating Lab study conducted with Ipsos.Digital, French singles have not given up on love, but they want to see it differently: without losing themselves, without exhausting themselves, and above all, without giving up on themselves. The keyword of the moment? Balance. A value which now stands out as the couple’s new compass.
Balance, the new compass for singles
In 2025, being together no longer means sharing or merging everything. For 42% of singles, the real ideal is to combine romantic relationships and personal projects. More than a third (35%) even prefer to prioritize their individual development, while only 15% still place relationships at the center of their lives.
This quest for freedom opens the way to new models. The celicouple, where everyone keeps their own roof, already appeals to one in three single people and 40% of women.
A trend which illustrates a profound transformation: the couple does not disappear, it reinvents itself to better adjust to the needs of independence and personal breathing.
Dating fatigue, a collective need to slow down
Behind this search for balance, there is also a weariness: 49% of singles say they feel a form of fatigue when it comes to dating, a figure which rises to 61% among application users.
This “dating fatigue” takes several faces:
- Emotional fatiguewith repeated disappointments (31%) or loss of self-confidence (29%);
- Relationship fatiguefaced with the pressure to be constantly proactive (24%) and hurtful behaviors such as ghosting (23%);
- Practical and even financial fatiguefor 20% who emphasize the cost of meetings, a greater weight among single parents.
But this is not a matter of disenchantment. This fatigue above all reflects a need to better protect oneself. More than two in three single people (67%) now say they are more demanding, 48% allow themselves breaks, and 60% – especially women – value singleness as a time of freedom and reconstruction.
Alchemy above all: loving, but with authenticity
In an ultra-connected world, singles want to get back to basics: emotional chemistry. For 90% of them, it is neither perfect compatibility nor rational criteria that trigger a story, but rather emotion, intuition and feeling. Compatibility “on paper” remains important (77%), but only after it clicks.
A fluid conversation (38%), the feeling of being understood (26%) or a simple smile that sticks in your memory (20%) are often enough to mark an encounter. Moreover, 34% of respondents say that even a short story can be memorable: the value of a relationship is measured by its intensity, not its duration.
As Clarisse Blanc, founder of the Dating Lab and Communications Director Match Group Europe, summarizes: “This study shows us that single people have not given up on love, but that they see it differently. Clearly, the single person of 2025 wants to love without giving up his freedom and his projects. The couple remains desirable but must be integrated into a more balanced life, sometimes in more flexible forms such as the celicouple. He also wants to protect himself from love fatigue by taking breaks, becoming more selective, and living celibacy as a constructive time.”