dating

Would you date someone shorter than you?

We all have some form of a dating checklist. A catalogue of must-haves and deal-breakers that help guide us on the search for love.

Do they have a sense of humour? Are they self-confident? Polite? Kind? And so on and so on. But where does it stop?

Should you, for example, rule someone out based on something as elementary as their height?

Married at First Sight contestant and hair salon manager Cheryl certainly would.

“He needs to be taller than me,” she stressed on last night’s episode of Channel 9’s experimental matchmaking show. (Of course, because television is glorious, her new ‘hubby’ isn’t.)

They're just tall heels. Promise.

But it got us wondering, do other women feel strongly about their partner's relative stature? We asked some, and this is what they said:

"My ex was a bit shorter - probably a few centimetres - and I briefly dated a guy who was a head shorter than me. To be honest, it makes me feel like a giant (as I'm already really tall). As much as I'd like to be OK with it, I feel extremely conscious of the height difference. Just once in my life it would be nice to be the 'petite' one."

"I kissed a man who was shorter than me once. I felt like I was going to crush him. I also felt like I was kissing my little brother."

"It depends on how much I like the person. But if they have 'short man syndrome', then it wouldn't matter how much I liked them - I just couldn't deal with the ego." (Post continues after gallery.)

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"When I was dating, height was an instant filter - even though it is a terrible thing to admit. I know there are lovely guys out there shorter than me but I'm not attracted to them. Add to the evolutionary aspect the culture we grow up in, where every image a young girl sees of a couple in love the man is taller. It's hard to go against."

"I dated a shorter man once and I felt like a beast. I didn't even want to stand next to him. Plus, you want to feel safe and protected. Well, I do, anyway."

"No. I feel like I would feel more like a mother, or older. And less feminine, which sounds weird when I say it."

Listen: What happens when you're single and you don't want to be? (Post continues after audio.)

There were, of course some, women prepared to overlook (pun intended) a man's height.

"Height was a deal-breaker for me until I moved to Italy and realised if I wanted to have a love life, I'd have to get over it and accept shorter guys. Now it's not an issue at all."

"My boyfriend is about three centimetres shorter than me and I wouldn't change him for the world! I like it when I wear heels to a formal event because I feel like a supermodel arriving with my director boyfriend. If height is a deal-breaker for you, I urge you to get over it."

What about you, ladies? Would you, or have you, dated someone shorter? Tell us about in the comments below.

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