Office Romances Sparked By Xs And Emoticons, Online Dating Site Reveals

Office Dating: You Had Me At ';)'
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Halt! Before you hit the send button on that email, you might want to have a think about the kind of messages you're giving off.

Office romances are often sparked by a cheeky emoticon or X, according to recent surveys by whatsyourprice.com.

Over half of those who got romantically involved with a colleague said that the affair had been initiated after Xs were sent in emails or text messages.

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The survey also revealed that 90% of women and 85% of men agree that receiving a message with a X before a first date increased the likelihood of intimacy.

Despite the risk of giving colleagues the wrong idea, the majority were not put off and admitted to routinely sending Xs on the end of emails to work colleagues, family and friends.

This simple way of initiating office romance could be music to some ears, with 84% of 18-29 year olds revealing that they would engage in romance with a co-worker.

We spend most of our time at work, so it is understandable that many relationships blossom over a shared Excel spreadsheet or exchanged glances at the coffee machine. But we still can't help but wonder whether they are a good idea.

We've pulled together a selection of the most high profile relationships that began (and sometimes ended) at work to give us some perspective.

Famous Office Romances
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (01 of06)
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Brangelina met on set of Mr & Mrs Smith. (credit:AP Photo/Michel Spingler)
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (02 of06)
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Before there was Brangelina, there was Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Screen siren Taylor famously took up with British thespian Burton while filming 1963's Cleopatra. (credit:Alamy)
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall (03 of06)
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Humphrey Bogart fell for 19-year-old Lauren Bacall weeks into shooting 1944's To Have And Have Not. (credit:AP Photo/Harold Filan)
Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig(04 of06)
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Both were with other people in long term relationships, but the long-standing friendship between Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig turned to love on the set of The Dream House, and they were married within the year.
Bill and Melinda Gates(05 of06)
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Melinda was an employee at Microsoft when the couple met at a press event in 1987. (credit:PA)
Barack and Michelle Obama(06 of06)
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The couple met in 1989 at a Chicago law firm. (credit:PA)

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