In a study from 1979, 61 percent of women and 35 percent of men reported having experienced love without a desire for sex. Thirty years later, 76 percent of the people who responded to a survey agreed with the statement that “true love can exist without a radiant/active sex life.” A study from the 1980s of young people likewise found that infatuation—often understood as a key part of romantic love—need not involve sexual desire. If they were inextricable, children who haven’t gone through puberty shouldn’t be able to experience infatuation.
