Beauty and Beast Spark Good Lovin'

(NEWSER) - As couples grow more committed to each other, their waistlines often grow as well, Time reports. During their first few years of matrimony, couples are twice as likely to become obese as their dating peers, according to a new study being published next month. If they merely move in with their boyfriends, women are 63% more likely than uncoupled peers to become obese; their partners' average risk doesn't increase, however. More»

Institution is obsolete—let's fix this 'bum deal'

(NEWSER) - Marriage is fraught with “emotional pain, humiliation, and logistical difficulty.” And for women—expected to work, parent, tend to the house, and on top of all that, keep the romance alive—it’s a “bum deal,” writes Sandra Tsing Loh, herself ending a 20-year union, in the Atlantic. In this era of “white-collar work and washing machines” and soaring life expectancies, “isn’t the idea of lifelong marriage obsolete?” More»

(NEWSER) - Tired of texting your long-distance lover to say how much you care? A Scottish research lab hopes to connect couples with something a bit more poetic: "painted" light. Users of Mutsugoto wear touch-activated rings tracked by motion-sensing cameras mounted above their beds; caress your own arm and a matching beam of light sweeps across your partner's arm. Couples who break up can turn to the lab's other project—a remote fighting game, reports the BBC. More»

New essay anthology explores love and personal finance

(NEWSER) - Freelance writer Marissa Belger married for love, relishing the warmth of her husband's clan and overlooking his lowly income—until he lost his job. In The Secret Currency of Love, a compilation of essays excerpted in Salon, Belger describes how her relationship to money surprised her. Adapting to poverty was fun at first, she writes, but as the job hunt left her husband weary and she wept over bills, Belger found that "love wasn't enough." More»

Women should say 'I love you' first as much as men

(NEWSER) - It may seem dated to say women can kill relationships with a poorly timed or premature "I love you." Or it may just seem dated to women, observes Sarah Hepola, who read an article advising women never to be the first to show their cards, emotionally, and was so annoyed she forwarded it to some of her guy friends. To her surprise, she writes on Salon, some agreed. More»