Study: Don’t Marry Unhappy People

Interesting study came across the Intertubes this weekend via our friends across the pond. According to “research” and “science”, if you are happy while your spouse isn’t, odds are you’re going to be heading down the dreaded path of divorce. Here’s the pull-quote:

Economists have identified a phenomenon called the ‘Happiness Gap’, which states that the bigger the difference between spouses’ satisfaction levels, the greater the risk of a break-up.

To which, I got to say, “no shit.”

But, even more for our purposes here on this website, this study gives us something to pull in regards to dating advice: Namely, don’t date unhappy people!

People are unhappy throughout their lives for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s about their job, sometimes it’s about stresses associated with their family, sometimes it’s about Lost finally coming to an end. It could really be anything. In most cases, happiness and unhappiness ebbs and flows on an almost week-to-week, if not day-to-day, basis. But, in certain cases, the state of unhappiness is for an extended period of time. Say, between the end of college and finally finding a successful career. Most importantly, whatever period of time it happens to be, when people fundamentally unhappy they are undateable!

Until they figure out what is wrong with their own unhappiness, you can’t do anything to get a successful relationship out of them. It’s just not going to work. So, in conclusion, if you are dating an unhappy person, don’t try to change them. They are unhappy, and they will continue being unhappy no matter what you do. And, for God’s sake, don’t fucking marry them.

And that concludes this edition of Obvious Advice That Should Be Stated Anyway.