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Topics: Dating, Dating trends, Sex and Relationships
Niamh Spence
Topics: Dating, Dating trends, Sex and Relationships
We've heard of 'marrying up' or even 'punching' when you date someone who is deemed to be better looking or just plain better than you.
Yet now it turns out there's a new trend, and it means dating another person with a 'higher socioeconomic status than you, supporting and enhancing your life'.
Well that's according to relationship website Seeking, who have uncovered the latest trend and what that means.
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Essentially it means finding a partner that has 'intellectual, cultural, lifestyle and economic aspirations',
Emma Hathorn, in-house dating and relationships expert at Seeking, explained to the Independent: "Modern hypergamy is about much more, it reflects a shift towards valuing growth and shared benefits in relationships.
"Today, ambition, wealth, and status remain important, but it's equally essential to find a partner who complements and enhances your life in meaningful ways."
She added: "Choosing a partner who complements and enhances your attributes can lead to a deeply enriching and meaningful connection.
"A great relationship is one where both people are constantly learning and growing together."
The new dating trend comes after experts have identified just how much of a minefield the dating world can be.
If you're not accidentally ending up in a 'situationship', then you're ending up in the 'Ben stage' or even worse, you could be 'roached'.
If all of that sounded like another language, then you're not alone.
A 'situationship' can be the outcome of casual dating, where instead of moving towards being in a relationship you instead end up in a much more relaxed and informal hook up. They're not always bad things though as these situationships sometimes allow you to experience dating without intimacy, give you time to work on yourself and essentially have a little bit of fun in the dating sphere.
Yet they can also have their pitfalls, as whilst many are happy to float around in these uncertain bubbles, others find themselves suffering from frustration and emotional vulnerability.
If you've managed to avoid a situationship then you could well end up in a 'Ben stage' instead, as dating coach Hayley Quinn explained that while some people luck out and find the love of their lives at school, most people have to kiss a 'few frogs' to figure out not only what they want, but also how to assert themselves in the face of committment-phobes.
She explained: "The 'Ben stage' is all about being stuck dating one unsuitable, and unavailable guy after another."
Another part of the dating rollercoaster is a new trend called 'roaching' which sounds as vile as the cockroach it gets its inspiration from.
First brought to public attention in 2021, roaching is essentially when a partner decides to be dishonest and hides the fact they are seeing you alongside multiple other people.
The name comes from the idea that when you see one cockroach scuttling around there is usually an infestation hiding in the background.
Dating sounds grim at the moment - anyone else ready to just be single?!