New analysis of ISER’s unique study of UK behaviours and attitudes, Understanding Society, has found that almost 9 in 10 (86%) of us who are married or live with a partner are happy in our relationship and 7% of us say we’re in relationships that couldn’t get any better, describing them as “perfect”.
Half of couples in the study say they do occasionally squabble with partners, suggesting that the odd spat is no bad thing. Equally, contentment doesn’t mean that our partners do not get under our skin; 61% admit that our partners do sometimes get on our nerves.
As well as high levels of happiness in relationships very few British couples are thinking about breaking up, slightly under 3 in 4 (73%) never regret their marriage or having moved in together and 3 in 4 (75%) said we had never considered separating from our partners.
The analysis of the ESRC-funded Understanding Society survey, by NatCen Social Research also reveals how couples in the UK are getting on day-to-day:
• 75% of us say we kiss our partners often
• 76% of us say we discuss stimulating ideas at least once a week
• 76% of couples work on a project together at least once per month
Men slightly happier with relationships than women
On a number of measures men show slightly higher levels of satisfaction with their relationship;
63% say that they are “very happy” in their relationship compared with 60% of women.
Similarly, 92% of men say that they rarely or never regret getting married or moving in with their partner, compared with 89% of women.
Men are also more positive about their communication and shared activities with their partners – 57% of men say that their partner gets on their nerves, compared with 66% of women. Moreover, more men than women say that they have a stimulating exchange of ideas.