Ananova:

Men who fall in love when they reach 50 may do so because they're "biologically programmed".

That's according to experts in the Italian capital, Rome, who say men fall in love at 50 because they're driven by the fear of old age and death, reports The Times.

The Institute of Psychology say that while men experience "puppy love" in their teens they only experience the real thing in their twenties when they form serious and "purposeful" relationships.

The survey of 3,000 men found that when they reach their thirties and forties they go through the "libertine" period where they explore sex both inside and outside marriage.

But it's when they hit the 50 mark that men fall in love all over again.

The psychologists say that while many fall in love again with their partners having learned to be more attentive and patient, others fall for younger women because they fear old age and death.

Guiseppe La Pera, a psychologist at the San Vincenzo hospital in Rome said men in their fifties expressed passion with an urgency similar to that which drove 18 year-olds because they were worried about running out of time.