Married couples who meet online are six times more likely to divorce within the first three years than those who meet their partners through more traditional routes.

Research has found that 12 per cent of couples who met over the internet did not make their third anniversary, compared to just two per cent who found love via family or friends.

The report, by the Marriage Foundation, suggests that those who meet online are at higher risk of divorce because they could be ‘relative strangers’ when they tie the knot.

“Gathering reliable information about the long-term character of the person you are dating or marrying is quite obviously more difficult for couples who meet online without input from mutual friends or family or other community,” said Harry Benson, the foundation’s research director.

“For online couples, wider social bonds between families and friends have to form from scratch rather than being well-established over years or even decades. It is therefore not entirely unsurprising that the input of family, friends or co-workers reduces the risk of making a hasty mistake.”