Male Couples Stay Together Longer Than Many People Think |
I recently came across a study that puts a whole new spin on our understanding of gay relationships. And I have to say I was surprised at the findings—and I am both a couples therapist and married to a man myself!
Of course, I had to break it down and explore further. This most recent study, done in Finland in 2025, notes that "female couples face high divorce rates, possibly due to unobserved minority stress," while "marriages of male couples appear to stabilize with increasing income equality."
In other words, contrary to popular assumptions, male couples have a higher success rate at staying in long-term relationships than do female couples. Go figure!
In 2020, research in the Journal of GLBT Family Studies noted that men in same-sex couples report higher levels of relationship quality, compatibility, and intimacy; the article cited results from an earlier study (2016) reporting reasons for their longevity: communication, similarity in values, shared experiences, commitment to the relationship, and support from others.
The UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute followed 500 male, female, and heterosexual couples over 12 years in Vermont. The study found gay men are less likely to........