Perfect Mismatch

Research reveals that couples in which the wife is better looking than her husband are more positive and supportive than other match-ups.

Women seeking a lifelong mate might do well to choose the guy a notch below them in the looks category. Research reveals that couples in which the wife is better looking than her husband are more positive and supportive than other match-ups. The reason, researchers suspect, is that men place great value on beauty, whereas women are more interested in a supportive husband. Past research, though, has shown that individuals with comparable stunning looks are attracted to each other and once they hook up, they report greater relationship satisfaction. Researchers assessed 82 couples who had married within the previous six months and had been together for nearly three years prior to tying the knot. They were on average in their early to mid-20s. They videotaped as each spouse discussed with their partner a personal problem. The tapes were analysed for whether partners were supportive of spouses’ issues, which included goals to eat healthier, land a new job and exercise more. A group of trained ‘coders’ rated the facial attractiveness of each spouse on a scale of 1 to 10. About a third of the couples had a more attractive wife, a third a more attractive husband and the remaining had  matching looks. Overall, the first group behaved more positively. So it seems a mismatch in looks is actually the perfect match.