Men with past relationships are more desirable

According to a fascinating study, women are more likely to choose a partner who has had a few romantic relationships because they are perceived to be more desirable to others.

"Females do not select male partners independently. Instead, they favour males having previous associations with other females, a phenomenon known as mate copying," explained lead study author Ryan Anderson from Australia.

The study involved 123 female university students. The students were shown pictures of men either alone or with one, two or five women.

The men were described as currently in a romantic relationship; having previously been in one, two, or five relationships; or not having had a romantic relationship at all in the past four years.

The researchers discovered that women found men with one or two previous partners more desirable than those with none.

"There appears to be a significant desirability advantage for men who have been previously selected as a romantic partner," Anderson was quoted as saying in a Sydney Morning Herald report.

But men who had five relationships or more were deemed unattractive, probably because they were perceived as likely to stray.

The study, published in the journal Human Nature, also found that younger women were more likely to judge their partner on how many relationships they have had.