Tall, Dark, and Drinks as Much (or as Little) as You: The New Relationship Requirement

by Gena Kaufman

Getty Images
Getty Images

If we're being honest, we here at Smitten think that drinking and dating go hand in hand in a lot of ways. But only in moderation! There has to come a point where drinking could actually interfere with your relationship, right?


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Right. But it's not for couples who drink a lot. And couples who don't drink much also tend to be fine. The problem comes in when partners aren't on the same page where drinking is concerned. According to new research on 634 married couples for nine years after their weddings, the rate of divorce was much higher (50 percent) for couples with one heavy drinker than the rate of divorce for couples where both parties drank (30 percent). Interestingly, couples who were both heavy drinkers were no more likely to divorce than couples in which neither partner was much of a drinker.

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This makes a lot of sense, no? Drinking isn't necessarily something I think of as a compatibility must for potential boyfriends. But both of my serious boyfriends drank much more than I do (uh oh, did I just spot a bad pattern?) and it was certainly a point of contention in both relationships. Yet I couldn't really envision myself with someone who didn't enjoy light-to-moderate drinking on a semiregular basis, since it's a big part of my social life with both friends and family. You know, within recommended guidelines. Most of the time.

Do you and your guy have similar drinking habits? A lot, a little, or a medium amount? If you don't have similar habits, do you ever argue over it?

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