Lifestyle

Married Couples Who Drink Together Stay Together, According To This Study

by Emily Arata
Apatow Productions

Every friend group has a “cool” couple.

They're inevitably about twice as good-looking as everyone else, arrive just 10 minutes after the party's started and match one another shot for shot of whiskey. While the rest of you are getting sweaty and tired, the chemistry between these two is palpable.

Yes, you inevitably tell the rest of your friends, "Those two are definitely going to have a happy married life someday." And they'll be so good at it, just like everything else.

According to new research, the “cool” couple probably does have a better shot of ducking that divorce rate than the rest of us do. A study that examined 2,767 couples over the course of a decade found those that drank at the same rate were happiest in their marriages, particularly the wives. On the other hand, relationships in which neither person drank were also successful.

The study participants, who'd been married for an average of 33 years, seemed to be most unhappy when only one partner drank frequently. Nobody wants to be the designated driver every weekend for a third of their lives, really. Plus, drunk people tend to be particularly obnoxious to their sober fellows.

Imagine the discord and guilt trips solo drinking would cause, wearing away slowly at you over the course of years. Dark.

Study author Kira Birditt from the University of Michigan told Reuters Health,

We're not sure why this is happening [...] but it could be that couples that do more leisure time activities together have better marital quality.

If you absolutely can't get on your partner's boozing level, however, there is a solution. Whether we're talking wine flights or other passions, like football, psychologists emphasize the most important part is supporting your husband or beloved wifey. Cheer him or her on, and maybe even take a stab at tossing around the old pigskin once a year.

Ah, marriage. What a delight.

Citations: Getting Drunk Together May Be the Key to a Happy Marriage, Study Finds (First We Feast)