What to say when someone asks 'Do I look fat in this?'

NEWS RELEASE

HARLEQUIN ENTERPRISES LIMITED

************************* Actually, you do look fat in those jeans... New Harlequin survey reveals Canadians welcome little white lies

TORONTO - (January 23) - When it comes to relationships between men and women, sometimes honesty is not the best policy.

According to the 2008 Harlequin Romance Report, Confessions, the majority of Canadian men (68 percent) have done the right thing and lied when their significant other asked the dreaded "Do I look fat in this?"

According to 67 percent of Canadians, white lies are an acceptable and even welcome part of any relationship, despite the fact that trust and honesty were ranked as the values that mattered most to both men (31 percent) and women (42 percent) in relationships. "Canadians want to have their cake and eat it too," said Marleah Stout, senior public relations manager, Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. "We want honesty in our relationships, but only if it doesn't offend or contradict our own self-image. We want to know that when it comes to the big things like infidelity, finances, or relationship problems our partners are being honest and truthful. But where physical appearance, annoying habits and personal preferences are concerned we accept, and often expect, to be lied to." In a recent online survey conducted by Harlequin, one of the world's leading publishers of women's fiction, Canadians revealed situations where lies were acceptable versus situations where honest confessions were preferred.

- Forty percent of Canadian men and 51 percent of Canadian women have told a lie in order to get out of a bad date.

- Thirteen percent of Canadian men admitted that they would give their partner a cubic zirconium instead of a real diamond engagement ring if no one would ever find out.

- Thirty-seven percent of men and 40 percent of women would confess to their significant other that they flirted with someone else yet only 24 percent of men and 23 percent of women would confess to having sex with someone else. - Forty-five percent of men and 55 percent of women confessed to having planned to bump into someone on purpose in hopes of it leading to a date.

- Thirty-six percent of men and 45 percent of women admitted to having snooped through their partner's e-mails, text messages, instant messages, private letters and/or mementos from previous partners.

The survey also provided a regional breakdown of the data to reveal where Canada's biggest liars live, where you'll find Canada's most truthful men and women, and who has the most explosive confessions.

This year's survey revealed that British Columbians don't always play fair when it comes to first encounters.

Forty-three percent of respondents have given out a fake phone number to someone they were not interested in.

Things got a little steamier online in the Maritimes where a whopping 65 percent of men and women revealed that they have received sexually explicit text messages, instant messages or e-mails.

Watch out for the gossip queens in the Prairies. Almost two-thirds of respondents (62 percent) admitted to having spread gossip at work.

Office romances are no longer taboo in Quebec: 68 percent of the residents agree with intra-office romance.

Ontarians are vain. More than half of respondents (51 percent) confessed to using hair dyes, almost as many (40 percent) use tanning beds or lotions to enhance their colour and 43 percent use some method of teeth whitening to perfect their smiles.

Albertans might leave you in a lurch. Half (50 percent) of Albertan women think it's okay to lie when they want to get out of plans they've made.

The report also includes celebrity tell-alls.

The Harlequin Romance Report 2008, Confessions, includes the highly anticipated ranking of the male and female celebrities whose juicy tell-all books we'd most like to read.

Perez Hilton's tell-all book would have everyone in Hollywood squirming which is why he topped the chart on the men's side.

Honourable mentions went to celebrated ladies' men George Clooney and Jack Nicholson.

With one of the hottest guys in Hollywood on her arm, a dark past to overcome and a philanthropic future to look forward to, Angelina Jolie took the number one spot for the women.

Honourable mentions went to Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears for their multiple DUI's, rehab sessions and on-again, off-again relationships. Other celebrities making this year's list include Oprah Winfrey, Victoria Beckham, Brad Pitt and Colin Farrell.

The best confession tunes of all time - Harlequin's Romance Experts compiled a list of the top ten songs about confession.

From Usher to Bon Jovi, the songs are available for download at www.charitytunes.com/harlequin

Charity Tunes will contribute 10 percent of the amount collected from each download to Big Brothers Big Sisters. This is just a taste of the findings in the 2008 Harlequin Romance Report.

The full text of the 2008 Harlequin Romance Report: Confessions can be downloaded by clicking here.

Harlequin Enterprises Limited is the global leader in series romance and one of the world's leading publishers of women's fiction, with titles issued worldwide in 25 languages and sold in 94 international markets.

The company produces over 115 titles monthly and publishes more than 1,300 authors from around the world.

*************************