I came across this article recently, and found it interesting. I have had female friends get married that have sworn by this advice, claiming that it's best to marry a partner that loves you more than you love him, and that a less attractive partner will be more faithful and will make for a stronger marriage. Do you think there is any truth to this advice, or is completely ridiculous?
Women, Want a Healthy Marriage? Marry a Man Uglier Than You, Study Says
The best marriages are those where women marry men who are less attractive than themselves, research has found.
Psychologists who studied newlyweds found men who were better-looking than their wives were more likely to be unhappy and have negative feelings about their marriage.
In couples where the wife is more attractive, both partners tended to be very content.
The research, published in the Journal of Family Psychology, suggests that, in evolutionary terms, women are less choosy about their man's looks as long as he is able to help them reproduce.
Men, however, are programmed to choose a mate who is most likely to pass on their genes and look for youth, health and physical attractiveness.
The tests involved 82 couples married within the previous six months.
Who gets to choose which one is prettier?
There is no real clear cut way to quantify it, a lot of it depends on how shallow and materialistic the people in the relationship are. An elderly person once told me, we all get old and wrinkley so in the end what's on the outside doesn't matter as much. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I think maybe that rings true. So the study would probably border on the ridiculous with some merit on the freudian side where the sub conscious comes into play. Interesting to think about....
I can totally see this working- where the couple will be happier if the wife is more attractive than the husband. I can't speak for all women, but for me and other girls I know, a guy doesn't have to look like a model- in fact sometimes that makes me wonder if he's a giant asshole, or maybe gay- and as long as he's not a slob or five-foot-nothing, I can let a lot of the pure physical stuff slide.
But being around guys in unhappy situations, and just hearing them talk- guys won't take too kindly to being married to some ugly-ass woman- if that's the way they look at it especially. It's no comfort to them to know they have something at home they aren't even attracted to anymore, and all those more attractive women are out there surrounding them. The only thing it probably helps to have a less-attractive wife for is the guy's ego, but that only hurts the woman in time, and the guy will cheat, if looks are that important to him.
Yes, girls cheat too, and like BigRoc says, if the looks aren't important then this is all out the window anyway, but I don't think I've ever met anybody who didn't think looks were important, at least to some extent. I think that extent grows over time if the marriage is not a happy one, and lots aren't.
Guess I'm safe hehehe! Oh who the hell knows but I do lust after a rocking male body kind of constantly UGH!
Bunny12
Bunny Rabbits cute and fuzzy they want to love you but they have razor sharp teeth - don't piss them off! It's interesting but I have known a few guys (and women actually) that are just chronic cheaters. It's like it's in their blood or something... LOL... no "one person" will ever be enough. When they've decided to settle down and get married, they've chosen mates that are rather plain or less attractive than they are (and usually more on the conservative side).
I've always had the theory that they prefer to be the 'show piece' in the relationship because they find it a more powerful position to be in. They've chosen a mate that seems "grateful" to be with them, and seem far less likely to get attention from other men or women. So it's easier to continue on being the player, and staying out late at the bars, and knowing your less attractive spouse is probably staying at home, patiently waiting for your return, and not fending off offers from other people.
Cheaters tend to project a lot (in my experience), and assume that everyone is either doing it or could be on the verge of doing it... So they tend to marry a "safe" bet so they don't have to worry...
And yes, I'm making a massive generalization with this whole post... but it's just an interesting trend I've seen happen on many occasions now...
Of course it doesn't exactly make for a "healthy relationship", but some people just know they will cheat and don't make pretences about it beforehand (that goes for both men and women).
