In 1960 the divorce rate in Germany was around ten percent, in 2022 it was already over 35 percent. Of course, this development is due, on the one hand, to the self-determined lifestyle of women today, compared to the 1960s, but also to the fact that many relationships lack the basis for eternal love.
In today’s world we live in a kind of throwaway society, also when it comes to love. In countless dating apps, new contacts are always available, the temptation is great and the distraction from one’s own partner has increased enormously compared to back then. Perhaps the media and the variety of communication options with friends are one of the problems why eternal love often only covers one phase of life.
A study by researchers Robert Waldinge and Marc Schulz, published in 2010 in Psychology an Aging, found that the more time you devote to your partner, the happier you are in a marriage. According to the study, marital satisfaction was even a kind of protective shield; even health problems were viewed as less negative when satisfaction within the relationship was high. The researchers concluded that a close friendship bond within a relationship leads to the maintenance of well-being.
It is not important whether a couple’s deep friendship was there from the beginning. On the contrary, it is often even helpful if the initial passion turns into a friendship and can therefore continue to grow and the basis becomes stronger and stronger.
The combination of love and friendship increases the chance of eternal love in a partnership. Friendly love leads to greater emotional resilience. Spending a lot of time together, experiencing things and laughing together – like in a friendship, maintains a long-term connection.
This theory was also confirmed by the study by Shawn Grover and John Helliwell from the “Journal of Happiness Studies”. The study also suggested that people who view their partners as their closest friends experience the greatest positive impacts on their well-being from both marriage and cohabitation.
Sources: Study 1, Study 2, Psychology Today, Statistics
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