Science Says the Key to a Happy Relationship is Finding an Ugly Man

It's not really possible to get romantic relationships down to a science.  There are so many variables and pitfalls, we just accept that every couple has it's ups and downs. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn't.  And while there are some obvious things that we know will and won't work when it comes to our significant other - we just can't (and probably won't) figure it all out.  But that won't stop us from trying!

Love scientists from FSU in Florida and SMU in Texas have been looking into the whole thing, and while they haven't finished writing the book on love just yet - they do have some very helpful advice, but it ain't pretty.  They examined over a hundred couples in their late 20s who had been married less than four months.  According to FSU's News site, they were asked how statements like “I feel extremely guilty after eating,” “I like my stomach to be empty,” and “I’m terrified of gaining weight” related to them.  A full body picture of each participant was then taken and then rated for attractiveness on a scale from one to ten.

After crunching all the numbers, the researchers made a startling discovery:  The less attractive a woman thought her man was, the happier the relationship!  Once again, there are a lot of variables involved and there is no magic bullet - but there is a lesson we can learn from here.  According to Doctoral student Tania Reynolds and Assistant Professor of Psychology Andrea Meltzer, the more attractive a woman thought her man was - the more likely she was to be motivated to diet, buy new clothes, or try to otherwise "improve" her appearance especially if she is not "particularly attractive."  The male participants in the study, however, had extremely low motivation regardless of how they perceived their partner's attractiveness.  The study also found that this phenomenon could lead to an increased risk of eating disorders and other health hazards for women in these situations.

The research tells us that the corny advice to focus on finding someone who has a great personality instead of a super duper Hottie-McHottie - is actually good for us.  So go out there and find your frog with the heart of a prince if you want true relationship happiness.