WASHINGTON, DC—According to a recent poll by the Gallup Organization, 29% of American boyfriends are completely unaware that they are in a relationship with the women they see on a regular basis.

The poll, which has been the cause of heated debate among both non-boyfriends and sort-of-but-not-really boyfriends, reports that nearly a third of men, when asked about the girl they see at least three times a week, denied being in a committed relationship.

“Nah, she’s not my girlfriend.” said Rob Hamils, a UNC graduate who has reportedly not been dating fellow graduate, Sarah Mallow, for the past eight months. “We’re not like, dating or anything. It’s just that we like to hang out every day of the week. No big deal.”

“Also, sex,” added Hamils. “We have sex frequently. But it’s nothing, really.”

Experts have been baffled to find such a large number of men had been frequently seeing the same women without classifying their relationship as “dating.” The Gallup Organization, which conducted the poll over the course of a year amongst several state schools, reports 19% of men responded with “Wait, what?” while 37% chose “Define girlfriend…” Among those polled, 8% refused to answer and 14% immediately ran away.

“The most difficult part of the study was the initial investigation,” explained Gallup statistician Candice Melton. “A large percentage of respondents simply stuffed their hands in their pockets and whistled innocently. We also found that questioning the subject within three feet of his girlfriend produced optimal results.”

Since the study was released, thousands of boyfriends have objected to the investigation, citing leading or deceptive questioning to explain the results. Ole Miss Sophomore Teddy Akers addressed the media Friday: “These results have overt and flagrant biases in them,” said Akers, who has objected most strongly to what he calls ‘stupid-girlfriend-confusion-wording biases.’ “I mean, I’m not, like, seeing any one person. Well, I do technically ‘see’ her, but not in that way. Not in the boyfriend way.”

The poll left Akers’ girlfriend Brittany Sharp unmoved. “People can talk all they want, but every time Teddy lets a door swing shut on my face, I know he’s really saying ‘You’re my everything’,” said Sharp as her reported boyfriend Akers sped away in his Camaro. “He loves me, I know he does.”

While many women across the country have taken this news in stride, others have reacted with disdain. According to investigators, Kari Tillinghast, an Iowa State senior and girlfriend of Byron Hawkins, elected to make no mention of the study and act as if nothing was wrong only to later hurl Hawkins’ X-Box at him while he was sleeping. There have been numerous reports of girlfriends employing other methods to show their frustration including, but not limited to: withholding sex, the silent treatment, and keying “You’re a pussy-shit asshole” into their boyfriend’s car door.

The poll also revealed that 51% of men are painfully aware of their role as boyfriends, and 12% are just rebounds.