People in relationships rate their partners a measly B- overall, according to new research.
A survey asked 1,000 girlfriends and 1,000 boyfriends to grade their partner and themselves on all areas of their relationship, with the average couple scoring just above average in total.
Although most lovebirds were rated well for their kissing ability (B) and sex life (B), areas such as ‘making effort with friends’ and spontaneity saw people getting marked down.
Partners also received C grades for listening skills, patience and showing affection in public.
The study, conducted by adult retailer EdenFantasys, found one in five women gave their boyfriends an F when it comes to making effort with their friends.
And girlfriends were less than impressed by their boyfriend’s spontaneity and their dirty talk skills, which came out lowest over all.
For those looking to improve – and 76 percent of respondents do think they have improvements to make – showing more affection in public is a good place to start, with people rating their partner at just C+ overall.
Fred Petrenko of EdenFantasys said: “Personal communication has always been the key to the successful partnership and intimate relationship.
“We at EdenFantasys strongly encourage couples to communicate more in order to improve their intimacy.”
The study found there is a significant disparity in regards to how girlfriends grade their boyfriends and how boyfriends actually grade themselves.
Where girlfriends gave their boyfriends only a C (73 per cent) for their spontaneity within their relationship, boyfriends graded themselves a healthy 8 percentage points higher (81 percent).
Boyfriends also thought of themselves as more of a romantic than maybe they really are, with boyfriends giving themselves a B- (81 percent) in the category, and girlfriends giving them nearly half a letter grade lower (76 percent).
In the bedroom girlfriends grade their boyfriend’s oral skills a respectable B- (though one in ten still grade an F), and gave their overall intercourse skills a healthy 84 percent (B).
But while their boyfriends’ sex skills were certainly a passing grade, girlfriends roundly agreed that “more foreplay” would be the top way to help bump it up even more.
“The life-long quest to be/become the best sex partner is an endless and challenging one,” added Petrenko.
“Do not overlook small props like sex toys or lingerie-- they make a quite a difference and can help quite substantially when it comes to bedroom intimacy. EdenFantasys.com is at your service for these products.”
HOW RESPONDENTS RATE THEIR PARTNERS
Making effort with friends C (76)
Making effort with partner’s family/ parents B- (80)
Showing affection in public C+ (77)
Romance overall C+ (78)
Spontaneity C (75)
Listening skills C+ (78)
Patience C+ (78)
Friendship B (85)
Humor B- (81)
Fashion sense B- (80)
Cleanliness B (83)
Film/TV taste B- (80)
Kissing ability B (83)
Sex life B (84)
OVERALL B- (80)
BEDROOM SCORES
Oral sex skill B (80)
Intercourse skill B (84)
Dirty talk C (73)
Noises C+ (77)
Bedroom generosity B- (82)
Kissing skill B (83)
Hand/finger skill B- (82)
Overall foreplay skill B- (80)