What five years of data tells us about lasting relationships
An analysis of 120,000+ member relationships across diet, device type, income, and education. Not peer-reviewed. Statistically significant.
Over 80% of Hanker's members are repeat customers — meaning most people who find a partner through us eventually return to find another. Our proxy for relationship success is this: the longer it takes a member to return to Hanker, the longer and presumably happier their previous relationship was. We acknowledge this is an imperfect and somewhat arbitrary measure. All findings below were controlled for country, gender, and age bracket, and are reported only where statistical significance was established (p < 0.05 or better).
Meat eaters stay in relationships 40% longer
Members who identified as meat eaters had a median return time of 26.3 months, compared to 18.7 months for vegans and vegetarians — a difference of 7.6 months, or roughly 40%. At the top of the distribution, the gap widens further: the top quartile of meat eaters stayed off the platform for an average of 41 months, versus 28 months for the equivalent vegan/vegetarian cohort.
The finding held across every geographic region we tested and remained significant at p < 0.001 after controlling for age, gender, income, and country. We ran robustness checks excluding short-term returns (<90 days) and members with only one relationship cycle — the effect persisted in both cases. This was the largest effect size of any variable we tested.
Android users outlast iOS users by 18%
Using device data collected through our platform, we found that Android users had a median return time of 24.1 months, compared to 20.4 monthsfor iOS users — an 18% gap. The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.01) and consistent across all major markets in our dataset, including the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.
The gap was most pronounced in the 28–38 age bracket, where Android users averaged 27.6 months before returning versus 21.9 months for iOS users. Among members over 45, the difference narrowed but remained present. We found no meaningful interaction between device type and income level, ruling out the simplest explanation that Android users simply belong to a different financial bracket.
Lower income, longer relationships
Members in the bottom two income brackets had a median return time of 27.8 months, compared to 19.2 months for members at the top — a difference of over 8 months, or roughly 45%. The gradient was smooth and consistent across all four income brackets, suggesting a continuous relationship rather than a threshold effect.
The finding was significant at p < 0.001 and held after controlling for age, education, and country. When we additionally controlled for relationship duration at first signup, the income effect strengthened slightly — suggesting it isn't simply a function of higher-income members being more active or frequent daters.
More degrees, shorter relationships
Members with a high school diploma as their highest qualification had a median return time of 28.4 months, compared to 23.1 months for undergraduates and 19.6 months for postgraduates — roughly a 45% gap between the lowest and highest education groups.
The education gradient was one of the most linear relationships in the dataset: each additional level of education corresponded to a shorter median relationship duration. The effect was significant at p < 0.001 and remained robust after controlling for income — meaning education predicts return time independently of how much someone earns.
Data is based on internal platform analytics from 2021–2026. This study has not been peer-reviewed and is not intended as scientific research. Correlation is not causation. Return time is an imperfect proxy for relationship health. All findings should be interpreted with appropriate caution.
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