One Key to a Happy Marriage: Drink Together

Or abstain together, but make sure 1 partner isn't unequal: Study
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 27, 2013 5:24 PM CST
Updated Dec 29, 2013 9:55 AM CST
One Key to a Happy Marriage: Drink Together
   (Shutterstock)

Newlyweds hoping for a long and happy marriage might pay attention to their drinking habits: Couples who drink roughly the same amount are less likely to divorce than those in which one of the two is a heavier drinker, according to a new study spotted by NBC News. It's not so much about the booze itself as the compatibility, which is why couples in which both people are heavy drinkers tend to divorce no more often than those in which both people are teetotalers.

“This research provides solid evidence to bolster the commonplace notion that heavy drinking by one partner can lead to divorce,” says the lead author of the nine-year study out of the University of Buffalo. “Although some people might think that’s a likely outcome, there was surprisingly little data to back up that claim until now.” The researchers found that couples with incompatible drinking habits divorced 50% of the time, versus 30% for those more in sync. Jezebel sums up: "As long as you've got something in common—even if it's only finding the bottom of the bottle—your marriage is more likely to succeed." (More alcohol stories.)

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