A recent study has revealed that kissing and telling your partner "I love you" ten times a week is the secret to a happy marriage.

Going on three dates a month, with three romantic surprises and ten deep conversations also make for an ideal relationship, according to 1,000 married Americans who took part in the poll. Many said the perfect marriage is based on trust and being best friends through thick and thin. Having three arguments a month adds to the magic but, importantly, a couple must be able to say sorry.

Others spoke of spending plenty of quality time with their spouses, being able to have fun and having three shared interests and taking two holidays a year together. Market researchers OnePoll.com, who commissioned the survey, said: “Anyone can get married, but it takes a lot of commitment and effort to make your marriage a perfect one.

“If you are not prepared to put the work in and take the rough with the smooth, you are going to struggle to find that ideal...it seems that the little things such as kissing and cuddling really are important.”

The survey found that 92 per cent of Americans considered themselves to be happily married. But of those who were not, almost a quarter said they had simply grown apart from their partner, while another 17 per cent blamed financial problems. Not having much in common, spending little time together and affairs also led to strife. More than half of those questioned were friends before they became an item. The survey also found that, in the perfect marriage, couples will make love three times a week and spend six nights a month cuddled up in front of the TV.

But the biggest secret to a happy marriage, the couples said, was simply accepting each other’s faults and staying committed to each other.