As much as they tried to deny it, people will always be fascinated by the personal lives of millionaires: these elusive and mysterious individuals surrounded by glitz and glamour, living in huge mansions who can have whatever and whoever they like. And yet, most people have never met a millionaire and can only speculate on what their love life looks like based on stories heard on the news. Unsurprisingly, tabloids aren’t a valid source of information, and they only fuel a culture of prejudice: people either think that millionaires have perfect, fairytale love lives or that they’re frivolous, undependable, treat their partners like objects, and refuse to settle down.

Myth #1: Millionaires only look for casual flings.

If you scroll through a tabloid website, you probably won’t need more than five minutes to find an article about a 20-something millionaire who broke up with his girlfriend after only six months of dating. This may lead you to believe that millionaires only look for casual, short-term relationships, but keep in mind that such stories are the exception that tabloids choose to exploit to get clicks. In reality, millionaires can look for short and long-term relationships, and, more often than not, they date to settle down and build a family that will inherit their empire.

Myth #2: A millionaire’s dating life is always easy.

While it cannot be denied that being financially wealthy makes your life easier in many ways, money definitely doesn’t bring happiness, especially when it comes to relationships. One of the many dating challenges that millionaires struggle with is finding someone who understands the stresses and responsibilities of their lifestyle and can support them through the good and bad times. Many times, people imagine that dating a millionaire only means traveling the world and attending glamorous events, when in reality, it also involves missing out on dates due to meetings and being away for work. That’s why millionaires often sign up on millionaire matchmaking sites, where all the users are part of high society. This includes celebrities and CEOs, but also lawyers, doctors, investors, and professional athletes.

Myth #3: Millionaires can’t keep long-term relationships.

This is another myth that’s fueled by the media, and that’s based on exceptions rather than statistics. Although famous divorce cases such as Bill and Melinda Gates or Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck may give the idea that, sooner or later, all happy millionaire couples end up parting ways, in reality, divorce rates don’t increase the chances of a divorce. If anything, divorce rates are lower because both partners are more educated. However, we live with the illusion that millionaires can’t keep long-term relationships because the media puts celebrity divorce cases in the spotlight. Plus, affluent individuals usually have good lawyers, so if the relationship isn’t working, they choose to end it, whereas a regular person could continue to stay in an unhappy marriage because they can’t afford the divorce.

Myth #4: Older millionaires only want to date young people.

The image of a retired millionaire dating a young, attractive blonde fresh out of college is not only offensive but also inaccurate. In reality, most millionaires want to date people within the same age group and, if there is an age difference, it’s simply because they are compatible. They also want to avoid being taken advantage of. For example, if you look at elite millionaire dating sites, you’ll see that they have strict no sugar daddy/sugar baby policies, precisely because users don’t want to take unnecessary risks. Many millionaires actually have conservative life values and would never agree to date someone who’s twenty years younger.

Myth #5: Smart and successful female millionaires can easily find a partner.

In the past few years, we’ve seen inspiring examples of successful women picked up by the media. These women seem to have it all: beauty, brains, ambition, and an army of people worshipping them. They make fantastic role models, and they prove that you don’t need to be of a certain gender or marry someone famous to achieve greatness. In theory, anyone would love to date a strong and independent woman entrepreneur, but, in reality, many female millionaires say that it’s difficult for them to find a partner. No matter how good you look and how confident you are, love is still a journey, and finding the one can be a challenge. Contrary to popular belief, most men aren’t intimidated by strong, successful women (if anything, they think it’s a turn-on). Usually, the problem stems from the fact that successful women are very assertive and in control of their lives and need someone just as stable and emotionally secure as them.  

Myth #6: If a millionaire hasn’t married by a certain age, they have commitment issues.  

George Clooney got married at 53 and, until then, most people assumed that he had commitment issues or that he simply lived a happier life as a bachelor. The reason? He simply hadn’t found the right woman. Like George Clooney, there are thousands of affluent executives, lawyers, doctors, and actors who haven’t yet settled down, but their reasons are often misunderstood. A millionaire isn’t more likely than a regular person to have commitment issues. However, they are more likely to neglect their love life because they’re so focused on building a career. They usually know that they put so much time into their work that their romantic relationships would suffer, so they either stick to casual dates, or they wait until they’re in their 40s or 50s to start dating at all.