# Women Are Happier With Less Attractive Men



## EllisRedding (Apr 10, 2015)

I guess you can throw this in there with the whole "Dad Bod" nonsense.

A brief summary:

- According to women, the attractiveness of their SO compared to themselves drives their motivation/pressure to maintain their appearance. If SO is less attractive these women don't feel as "pressured" to maintain weight, stay fit, etc... generally resulting in more happiness
- According to men, the attractiveness of their SO compared to themselves did not play an important role in how they viewed their appearance, but did somewhat impact their commitment to their SO.

I do wonder, from the female perspective above, you may be "happier" being in a relationship with someone who is less attractive, but what impact does that have being with someone you may not really be attracted to (so maybe the male gets the negative side of it having a SO who doesn't really desire him).




> Good news, fellas, it is now officially a good thing to be punching above your weight. In fact, it's better for all concerned.
> 
> A study by Florida State University has found that heterosexual relationships and marriages tend to be more successful when the female is the more attractive one.
> 
> ...


?Punching Above Your Weight? Women Are Happier With Less Attractive Men, According to Study - LADbible

Adopting a dyadic perspective to better understand the association between physical attractiveness and dieting motivations and behaviors - ScienceDirect

So basically this










plus this










equals happiness


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## Blondilocks (Jul 4, 2013)

This study doesn't seem particularly useful given the participants had only been married a short while. Add in the subjectivity of rating the attractiveness of the participants and the very limited geographical/cultural scope; it makes me wonder why it got any attention at all.


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## Married but Happy (Aug 13, 2013)

Quantify "less attractive"! How much less attractive leads to more happiness? I'm sure there is an amount of less attractive that leads to less happiness, too. (BTW, the bottom photo looks like a woman I went on a blind date with, long ago.)


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## arbitrator (Feb 13, 2012)

EllisRedding said:


> I guess you can throw this in there with the whole "Dad Bod" nonsense.
> 
> A brief summary:
> 
> ...


*It should be said that if he has a “looker” for a wife like that, then he’s undoubtedly packing a 20 inch pecker somewhere under that gut of his; has ears like saddlebags; and can breathe continuously through his ears!*


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## EllisRedding (Apr 10, 2015)

Blondilocks said:


> This study doesn't seem particularly useful given the participants had only been married a short while. Add in the subjectivity of rating the attractiveness of the participants and the very limited geographical/cultural scope; it makes me wonder why it got any attention at all.


Yeah, they only surveyed 113 people. I also don't understand why they didn't open up the survey to couples in various stages of their relationship and not just newlyweds, as well as couples 30+ years old. Kind of seems like the study was done specifically so the researcher could draw the conclusion they wanted. 

It does fit the stereotype as well you see commonly on TV where the less attractive/overweight Dad is married to a hotter W.


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## Andy1001 (Jun 29, 2016)

arbitrator said:


> *It should be said that if he has a “looker” for a wife like that, then he’s undoubtedly packing a 20 inch pecker somewhere under that gut of his; has ears like saddlebags; and can breathe continuously through his ears!*


I seen that guy in a bar in NY a few times,he was always been hit on by beautiful women.
He never said anything when he came in,just sat there licking his eyebrows.


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## Blondilocks (Jul 4, 2013)

I've known couples where the husband was significantly better looking than the wife and both were happy as could be. No, the wives weren't constantly dieting or worrying about their looks. I have to admit though, have never known a couple with such a discrepancy as those in your pictures.


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## BradWesley2 (Jul 15, 2016)

Andy1001 said:


> I seen that guy in a bar in NY a few times,he was always been hit on by beautiful women.
> He never said anything when he came in,just sat there licking his eyebrows.


Damn Andy you outed me! HAHAHA.


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## MJJEAN (Jun 26, 2015)

Less objectively "well formed" doesn't mean less attractive. Attraction is chemical, not emotional or visual. I've always liked big men. I've been into "dad bods" since I was a teenager. Not surprisingly, my DH has a "dad bod" and has since we met in our early 20's.I can't get enough of him even after just shy of 18 years together. Nothing to do with not having to diet or maintain some standard and everything to do with just being in his presence or thinking about him too hard makes me get the nether tingles.


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## arbitrator (Feb 13, 2012)

*If women are indeed happier attaching themselves to unattractive men, then let’s just say that it stands to reason that some lucky gal is in for a Godsend with an available, ugly old fart like me!*


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## VermiciousKnid (Nov 14, 2017)

I've always loved the song lyrics: 

_If you want to be happy for the rest of your life...
Don't make a pretty woman your wife...
This is only my personal point of view...
You got to get an ugly girl to marry you..._

It's funny because there is a lot of truth to it.


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## Satya (Jun 22, 2012)

I think "attractive" is relative.

Unless for the sake of this post we're setting a standard for men to be something like the Golden Ratio as the apex of attractiveness.

I find Odo attractive but I know many women would not so. I'm also aware of the extra weight he carries and it doesn't make me find him less attractive than I already do.

I could do better in the exercise department. Diet wise we are pretty good. If my husband was a buff gymgoer, chances are we wouldn't be together anyway because that's not the kind of lifestyle I embrace and he'd probably resent me.

So Odo and I are perfectly matched in many ways, including physical.


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## Yeswecan (Jul 25, 2014)

arbitrator said:


> *If women are indeed happier attaching themselves to unattractive men, then let’s just say that it stands to reason that some lucky gal is in for a Godsend with an available, ugly old fart like me!*


I'll drink to that. Who's buying???? :laugh:


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## Slartibartfast (Nov 7, 2017)

..


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## EllisRedding (Apr 10, 2015)

arbitrator said:


> *If women are indeed happier attaching themselves to unattractive men, then let’s just say that it stands to reason that some lucky gal is in for a Godsend with an available, ugly old fart like me!*


You are not old ...


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## uhtred (Jun 22, 2016)

It could be Correlation != Causation.

If looks are your main concern, you are likely to marry a more attractive spouse, but by selecting for looks you may be putting less effort into selecting for other characteristics that make for a happy marriage.


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## WildMustang (Nov 7, 2017)

MJJEAN said:


> Less objectively "well formed" doesn't mean less attractive. Attraction is chemical, not emotional or visual. I've always liked big men. I've been into "dad bods" since I was a teenager. Not surprisingly, my DH has a "dad bod" and has since we met in our early 20's.I can't get enough of him even after just shy of 18 years together. Nothing to do with not having to diet or maintain some standard and everything to do with just being in his presence or thinking about him too hard makes me get the nether tingles.


...thinking about him too hard...hahahahaha...yeah, that'll do it...


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## arbitrator (Feb 13, 2012)

EllisRedding said:


> You are not old ...


*Says who?*


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## Mr. Nail (Apr 26, 2011)

This is exactly why I reject the "happy wife, happy life" theory. You note that this study equated female happiness with not having to try, that has been my experience. She was so happy, that she couldn't see how miserable I was. She could not be motivated to make any changes because she already had all she wanted. Perhaps I should have given up bathing.


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## Ynot (Aug 26, 2014)

Well, that places a new spin on my life story. No wonder my ex was unhappy, I was too damn attractive!


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## Andy1001 (Jun 29, 2016)

arbitrator said:


> *Says who?*


Shouldn’t that be “compared to who”.😜


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## sokillme (Jun 10, 2016)

Says study done by less attractive men. ha ha.


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## sokillme (Jun 10, 2016)

Married but Happy said:


> (BTW, the bottom photo looks like a woman I went on a blind date with, long ago.)


:surprise::surprise::surprise:


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## arbitrator (Feb 13, 2012)

Andy1001 said:


> Shouldn’t that be “compared to who”.😜


*Andy: Let’s face it! I’m a lot like Cassius Clay/ Muhammad Ali ~ “I’m so pretty!” *


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## Broken_in_Brooklyn (Feb 21, 2013)

What some women see ..


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## Wolf1974 (Feb 19, 2014)

My GF has maintained she wants to be the pretty one in the relationship. I’m letting her have it!


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## MichelleThoughts (Jun 24, 2018)

Well, I don't fit that. My husband gets checked out all the time because he's hot, but we both stay in shape without too much effort. The boyfriends I had before him were much less attractive than him. He was the first man that I dated where I was like, just omg crazy attracted to him. I didn't like being with the men that were less attractive because I felt like I could do better. I know that sounds mean or shallow, but that was how I felt when I was a young adult. Now that we've been together fifteen years, obviously looks alone would not be anywhere near sufficient to keep us going strong, but nonetheless it is still important to both of us. Neither of us wants the other to let himself or herself go, but it is not like we spend a lot of time worrying about it either.


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## ConanHub (Aug 9, 2013)

I don't know. I'm pretty hot stuff and Mrs. Conan seems pretty happy.


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