It is often believed that the better looking you are the luckier you are in life and in love. We grew up watching films where the pretty girl got the guy and the less attractive girls were flawed and so weren't seen as love interests. Or, sometimes the less attractive girls were actually beautiful all along, but it takes a makeover for them to attract the attention and get the guy (ahem Mean Girls, Clueless, John Tucker Must Die...)
We are quick to put the better looking people on a pedestal and we're easily jealous of them. Not to mention that good looking people are generally believed to earn higher salaries than unattractive people and are able to command attention wherever they are, meaning they have access to a greater number of opportunities, including within their dating lives. However, a new study by Broadly upends this entirely. It has found that those who are more physically attractive are less lively to have fulfilled love lives than those who are less attractive.
The social psychologists at Harvard University found that while it isn’t difficult for attractive people to find a partner, they are less likely to maintain long-term relationships, as there is a link between beauty and break-ups. This is perhaps proven in the love lives of Hollywood’s elite. A beautiful A-lister doesn’t stay single for long, or if they do it is not without great admiration, but beautiful A-list couples rarely last a life time.
Director of the study, Christine Ma-Kellams, said: 'Attractiveness gives you more options in terms of relationship alternatives, which might make it harder to protect a relationship from outside threats. In this sense, having too many other choices is likely not beneficial for relationship longevity.'
Could it be that having so many options in life because of good looks can cause a person to become complacent when in a relationship, and so have less relationship satisfaction? Ma-Kellams says in order to have relationship longevity ‘an attractive person should be mindful of their own limitations and not rely too heavily on their own appeal.’
So next time you're stalking your ex's beautiful new girlfriend, remember that looks aren't everything...
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