It is a cruel irony, but many of you may find the more you earn the less time you have to spend it. The more highflying your life, the less exciting your social life.

And the same could be said for dating. While a luxuary lifestyle might be an aphrodisiac, those who lead one will hardly have time to start, let alone upkeep a relationship.

Images by Helen Croydon

Now a new dating website is honing in on the experience-rich, but time-poor singles. PartTimeLove.co.ukis for those who only want a part time relationship.

Note the word ‘relationship’. This isn’t another no-strings-flings site, or so the founders claim. It’s for single people who want a genuine a loving partnership, but minus the five-times-a-week obligations to meet. There will be no dreary obligations for DIY, no going to their friends’ weddings on weekends, no dramas when you have to fly to Monaco for five days and can’t see them until a week next Tuesday.

The founder of the site, Helen Croydon, an author and journalist who writes about relationships, says she started the site because that is the sort of relationship she wanted. ‘I’ve always been baffled by our cultural expectations of dating in a society that is so geared for independence in other areas of life’ One minute you can be single and in total control of your own schedule, arranging brunch with friends and leaving a party at whatever time you like. But as soon as you meet someone, there’s this unwritten rule that you have to make room for them five times a week. That’s why so many people become scared of commitment, but that’s a shame because a relationship doesn’t have to be all-consuming if you meet someone likeminded.”

The site is not just aimed at highflyers with little downtime. There are lots of other circumstances where people can’t commit to a ‘proper relationship.’ Single parents, the cautious new divorcees, those who travel with work or simply people that enjoy a few nights a week in their own company.

Helen Croydon

True, some might find the idea of a part time relationship too insecure. But as modern life gets more demanding and our social circles get more stressed, many of us have less time to dedicate to coupley things. It’s possible that ‘part time love’ will become the new norm for dating in the future. A modern framework for finding love in a modern age. At least that’s what PartTimeLove.co.uk is banking on.