Being happier than your husband could be the secret to a lasting relationship, a new study suggests.
Researchers insist they have discovered the secret to a long-lasting relationship. According to economists, it all hangs on the woman being happier than the man.
A brand new study, which looked at tens of thousands of couples in Britain, Germany and Australia, identified a phenomenon called the ‘Happiness Gap', which relates to the difference between spouses satisfaction levels.
The results, published in Germany, revealed that when the husband was feeling better about life than his wife there was a far greater risk of a break-up.
When this happens it is more likely to be the unhappy wife who asks for a divorce.
The ‘happiness gap' is believed to get wider when women feel they are being lumbered with more housework, if they are from different social backgrounds to their partners, or if they have a higher than average income.
The gap is reduced when couples share similar social backgrounds, have a common religion, if the chores are shared, or if the woman is a housewife or student.
Dr Cahit Guven, who was part of the research team and is an expert in wellbeing and economics, says: ‘Previous studies have shown that couples who marry with similar levels of schooling age, country, ethnicity, religion and social background have longer marriages.
‘In the UK 61% of women in the highest tier are married to men in the same tier and this number is 70% in Germany.
‘Our research tends to support this view.'
Do you agree with this latest research, or are you of the belief that every relationship works differently? Whatever your thoughts, Marie Claire would like to hear from you by posting a comment below.
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