Bill loves to joke about how getting married means the end of a good sex life. Turns out, he may be on to something!
For a long time, people assumed that marriage was the best relationship status for a satisfying sex life. After all, married people have made a big commitment to each other and probably are invested in pleasing their spouse. People who are single, just dating, or living together aren’t as committed, and so don’t try as hard.
A new survey from Germany says otherwise.
The researchers analyzed responses from seven different groups:
Married
Never married and currently single
Divorced and currently single
Never married and currently co-habitating
Divorced and currently co-habitating
Never married and living apart together (LAT)
Divorced and currently living apart together (LAT)
Married couples were among the LEAST satisfied. They reported lower levels of self-esteem and communication skills.
The group that overall had the highest scores? Unmarried couples living apart!
The group with the most dismal results (even worse than the married folks? Singles with no partner.
So, at least based on this survey, it’s not marriage that is beneficial to a happy sex life, but having a partner.
This study contradicts some earlier studies, so at the end of the day, there’s just no way to really know whether marriage helps or hurts sexual satisfaction.
The study was published in The Journal of Sex Research