2012 rush for online dating

DATING websites will have their busiest day of the year for new subscribers today as single men and women try to find love in 2012.

The number of applicants for sites such as EHarmony, Match.com and The Scotsman’s Perfect Partners is expected to jump 117 per cent on 5 January, compared with the same time last year.

Online dating is now the third most popular way to meet a partner in Britain, according to research.

Toby Frith, social media manager at The Dating Lab, the company that produces The Scotsman’s Perfect Partners dating service, said: “Generally, we see a 30 per cent increase in memberships in January.”

Meanwhile, divorces are set to increase as tensions over the festive period prove unbearable for many couples.

Anna Forsyth, associate on the Morton Fraser LLP family law team, said: “Both our Edinburgh and Glasgow offices often experience an influx of new inquiries for our family law team just after New Year.”