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Men who marry younger wives tend to show more satisfaction in their marriages, the research found. Meanwhile, the men who marry women who are older than they are show less satisfaction. What might come as a surprise to some, though, was that women also seemed to prefer younger spouses.
As the authors of the study noted, women also report more satisfaction with younger husbands compared to older ones. The research also told a different story as time passed. Despite the higher level of satisfaction reported by those with a younger spouse early-on in the relationship, the study found that the initial boost wears off quickly—generally within the first six to 10 years of a relationship.
The study , which recorded and analyzed a variety of data from 3, individuals who had been married at least once in their lives, centered on the relationship between the amount of money spent on a marriage and that longevity of the marriage. Throughout the course of the study, though, another interesting trend emerged: According to the data published in the study, couples with ages within one year of each other had only a 3 percent chance of splitting up.
Those with a five-year difference in ages were 18 percent more likely to to split up.
As the gap widened, the likelihood of a split continued to increase. Couples with a year gap had a 39 percent chance of splitting up, and the chance of splitting for couples with a year gap was a whopping 95 percent. While the connection is by no means definitive, it seems possible that the rapid decline in marital satisfaction relative to similarly aged couples observed in the University of Colorado study may lead to an increased likelihood that marriages with large age differences will end in divorce. Jonathan Bennett, however, has a few ideas why. Typically, these websites pair wealthy men with young women, offering them 'allowances' in exchange for their companionship.
The Seeking Arrangement website for those looking for a Sugar Daddy.
Amelia recalls being asked by some of her closest friends if this was how she met her former partner, "I'd tell them time and time again he wasn't my 'sugar daddy' and I know they probably believed me, but it didn't stop them from asking. Having children is an important conversation you need to have - even if you don't like the answer.
Sometimes one will have children from a previous relationship but feel like they're perhaps too old to have one in the new relationship. Sometimes the woman may feel that he is only with her because she's young and can still have children.
The Seeking Arrangement website for those looking for a Sugar Daddy Amelia recalls being asked by some of her closest friends if this was how she met her former partner, "I'd tell them time and time again he wasn't my 'sugar daddy' and I know they probably believed me, but it didn't stop them from asking. This largely has to do with having social circles that generally include peers of similar ages and being attracted to others who are similar. Denise Knowles, a relationship counsellor for Relate , says the couples themselves will often assume this as well: The limited evidence on same-sex couples, however, suggests the prevalence rates are higher. In contrast, there's evidence to suggest men value attractiveness and vitality more than women because, from an evolutionary standpoint, youth is seen as an indicator of fertility.
With all the questions, assumptions, and jokes regarding your relationship, it's important you have a thick skin. When you have a twenty year old with a forty year old we tend to think that it's a large age gap, but when we have a couple where one is thirty and the other is forty-five, we don't think anything about it.
Accessibility links Skip to article Skip to navigation. Saturday 12 January These effects appear to apply to heterosexual and same-sex couples. So the negative outcomes for age-gap couples seem to reside not in problems within the couple, but in pressures and judgments from the outside world. Another factor at play may have to do with the stage of life each partner is experiencing. For instance, a year gap between a year-old and a year-old may bring up different challenges and issues than for a year gap where one partner is 53 and the other is This is because our lives are made up of different stages, and each stage consists of particular life tasks we need to master.
And we give priority to the mastery of different tasks during these distinct stages of our lives. So when each member of a couple straddles a different life stage, it may be difficult for the couple to reconcile each other's differing life needs and goals.
The success of a relationship depends on the extent to which partners share similar values, beliefs and goals about their relationship; support each other in achieving personal goals; foster relationship commitment, trust and intimacy; and resolve problems in constructive ways. These factors have little do with age.
So the reality is, while an age gap may bring about some challenges for couples, so long as couples work at their relationship, age should be no barrier. Gery Karantzas is an associate professor in social psychology and relationship science at Deakin University. This piece first appeared on The Conversation.
First posted April 20, If you have inside knowledge of a topic in the news, contact the ABC. ABC teams share the story behind the story and insights into the making of digital, TV and radio content. Read about our editorial guiding principles and the enforceable standard our journalists follow. Follow the action live. The no-confidence motion's failure hands a win to the PM the day after she lost a parliamentary vote by the biggest margin in British political history. Breaking news Actor Craig McLachlan's defamation trial has been delayed until criminal proceedings in Victoria are completed.
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, who is 24 years his senior. It's not just sex: The success of a relationship depends on partners sharing similar values, beliefs and goals about their relationship.
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