Science Says This Is How To Tell If Your Relationship Will Last Forever

So you went out this past weekend and met the guy who could possibly be the man of your dreams/potential father of your children/son-in-law your dad always dreamed about. Let's call him Johnny.

You and Johnny sang your hearts out to "No Scrubs," his friends got along perfectly with your friends and the next morning he took you out for what was possibly the least awkward morning-after breakfast date known to man, despite the fact that you spilled maple syrup all over your clothes from last night.

Now the two of you are texting nonstop and even have plans to hang out again tomorrow. Ah, to be young and in love.

But then there's that little nagging voice in the back of your head. Are we going to last? Is this one going to be the one to last forever? Or is this just another stupid fling I got excited about?

The problem is, of course, that you, as a mortal human being, cannot see into the future so you actually have no idea whether or not this is going to go anywhere.

So you start doing your best to find out. You extensively discuss with your friends, you start religiously reading horoscopes from questionable websites, you replay details over and over again in your head... all in an attempt to figure out if you and this fantastic guy have a real shot at making it.

But none of those methods ever really work, do they? I mean, as much as we would love for the stars and our best friends to let us know how long our relationships are going to last for, I think we all know from personal experience that they don't have the highest accuracy rate.

But what if I were to tell you that there was a scientific way for you to tell whether you and Johnny from this weekend are really going to make it? You'd be so happy you could just kiss me, right? Well, pucker up because I've got some exciting news for you.

A new article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology by Professor Edward Lemay of the University of Maryland, presented us with a new theory called the "forecast model."

The forecast model suggests that our expectations for how happy we'll be with our partners determine how committed we are to making our relationships last.

In other words, if you and Johnny hit a rough patch anywhere down the line, you are more likely to stick around and get past it if you see potential for the relationship to improve and bring you happiness in the future.

The minute you stop seeing long-term happiness with your partner is the minute you stop trying to make the relationship work.

It's funny, right? This whole time you were consulting everyone else to help determine whether or not your relationship was going to last forever and really the answer was completely up to you.

Citations: How Do You Know Whether Love Will Last? (Psychology Today)