Married women’s love fades more quickly than their husband’s in long marriages, data suggests

Though some husbands may quietly disagree, women’s loving feelings fade more than their partners’ in a long marriage, data suggests.

Research tracked the emotions of 3,900 adults, ranging from those in two-year engagements or marriages to 20-year partnerships.

Volunteers were asked to report their feelings every 30 minutes for ten days, and to say who they were spending time with. 

This identified the amount of love women and men felt for their partner over time.

The results showed declining romantic feelings among women, with those married or engaged for more than three years reporting feelings of love 55 per cent less frequently than those in newer relationships.

By contrast, the equivalent fall in the frequency of loving feelings among men was 9 per cent. 

The study found women in longer partnerships spent more time doing chores and cooking, which could help to explain the results.

Men who had been married or engaged for longer were found to spend more time relaxing and sleeping or napping. 

But the study, published in Psychological Science, found that absence does make the heart grow fonder.

When couples were reunited after being apart for around eight hours, there was a steep average increase in feelings of love. 

Dr Saurabh Bhargava, of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh in the US, which conducted the study, told The Times: ‘I think there is an optimistic interpretation of the data – even though romantic passion and romantic love decline, they do persist.’