Why do some people keep looking for the perfect partner? When Hannah Miller was 10 years old, she met Sam at a theme park. Her sister mocked her, saying she and Sam were going to get married. “It’s a bit embarrassing, but I did fall head over heels that day,” says Miller, 45, from Birmingham, UK.

She didn’t see the boy from the theme park again until she was 18 years old, but once she did, things moved quickly. A few weeks later, Sam told Hannah he was in love with her, and the two married just before her 20th birthday. “Commitment felt like it came easily – this was it, we were meant to be together, so why wait,” she says. “We knew that there was no reason not to get married because we were soulmates.”

A surprising number of individuals believe in soulmates, according to a survey done in 2021; the concept of “The One” also exists in many other civilizations. People feel their ideal companion is out there for a variety of reasons, and the concept has only risen in popularity over the last 50 years. Experts believe that our beliefs about soulmates are impacted by our personal circumstances and psychology, but those seeking a pre-destined spouse may be setting themselves up for failure from the start.