Scientists say women don't like successful men - so how do they explain this?

A BEAUTIFUL starlet wafts up the red carpet, dressed from head-to-toe in designer threads and bedecked with jewellery to die for. But her favourite accessory? Why, that has to be the anonymous-looking bloke walking a couple of steps behind her.

It is a trend that has been followed by stunning women such as Cate Blanchett, who married bookish-looking screenwriter Andrew Upton; Christina Aguilera, who wed dumpy music producer Jordan Bratman and the supermodel Heidi Klum, whose husband is the singer Seal.

Yet, according to new research, beautiful stars who choose to marry men with the looks and career prospects of an Average Joe are just doing what comes naturally to women.

Diminutive Formula 1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone, who attracted his stunning and very tall wife, Slavica, may be the exception who proves the rule.

Scientific research has uncovered that women, either purposely or subconsciously, will pick good-looking men to date but reject them when it is time to walk up the aisle.

It appears that handsome, wealthy men carry a "health warning" that makes most women believe they will eventually prove unfaithful partners.

The chaotic personal lives of handsome stars including Jude Law, whose on-off relationship with Sienna Miller has filled countless tabloid column inches; Brad Pitt, Hugh Grant and most recently Olivier Martinez, who has split with Kylie Minogue, seem to bear the theory out.

And both Jerry Hall and Bianca Jagger have a salutary warning tale to tell about their success in staying married after getting Mick to the church on time.

According to the results of a study, carried out by the University of Central Lancashire, the women questioned admitted they kept away from the best-looking high-flyers when seeking out a long-term partner.

Researchers speculated that good-looking men with a correspondingly high professional and social status were rejected because they were seen to be less faithful.

Dr Simon Chu, who led the study, said these men were the top choice for dating, but were not seen as good marriage-material.

Together with a team of scientists, Dr Chu spoke to 189 female university students asking them to rank men in terms of attractiveness as a long-term partner.

They were shown pictures of men already graded for looks and given details of their socio-economic status.

Highly-attractive men with mid-level careers were deemed a better prospect for husband-hunting girls, rather than their high-powered counterparts.

A spokeswoman for the University of Central Lancashire said

: "While the study could not provide a definitive answer, researchers speculate that women may see these highly attractive men of increasing status to be less faithful when it comes to fidelity.

"In some, they may be the hot choice to select when dating, but as a long-term partner, even the most attractive, successful man could be 'too good to be true'."