If there’s one thing we’ve learned from watching Disney films over the years, it’s that love DOES happen at first sight - and that every princess dreams of her happy ever after.
Unfortunately, however, things aren’t quite as simple here in the real world.
Britain has the highest divorce rate in the European Union, with 2.8 marriage break-ups for every 1,000 people, a survey recently revealed.
And now Dr Helen Fisher has revealed that this could be down to the fact that some people rush into marriage too quickly.
Intriguing, eh?
Speaking to Big Think, she explained: "One of the problems with early stage intense feelings of romantic love is that it's part of the oldest part of the brain that become activated — brain regions linked with drive, with craving, with obsession, with motivation.
"In fact some cognitive regions up in the prefrontal cortex that have evolved more recently begin to shut down — brain regions linked with decision making [and] planning ahead."
Which, essentially, explains why people make such crazy life choices during the ‘honeymoon phase’ of their relationship; they’re drunk in love.
Yup, intense feelings of love can cloud their ability to think logically or rationally about the person you're with.
We’ve all been THERE, haven’t we?
That’s why we need to wait it out before we decide to tie the knot, in a bid to give our brains time to adjust to the new situation and feelings we’re experiencing.
Or, as Fisher puts it: "I think... this slow love process of getting to know somebody very carefully over a long period of time is going to help the brain readjust some of these brain regions for decision making.
"You're going to get to know how this person handles your parents at Christmas ... how they handle your friends, how they handle their money, how they handle an argument ... etc."
That all sounds sensible to us.
She’s basically saying that we need to get to know someone, properly, before we decide to commit to them for the rest of our lives.
And, when it comes to how long we need to date them before making that decision, he did get specific.
"I think people should marry when they feel like marrying but from what I know about the brain if it were me I'd wait at least two years."
That’s right, two years is the recommended absolute minimum.
Tell THAT to all the Disney princesses, eh?
Do you agree - is two years the absolute minimum to wait until getting married? Or do you think that love can be more powerful and strange than they’re giving it credit for?
Let us know via Facebook or Twitter (@CloserOnline) now.