Heartwarming Spouse Study

Hate how he always leaves the toilet seat up or that his morning breath lasts all day? A new study from the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research says to get used to the stuff that bugs you about about your better half. In fact, if you're in it for the long-run, buckle up--it could be a bumpy ride.

Kira Birditt, the lead author of the study, and colleagues Lisa Jackey and Toni Antonucci, sampled 800 people in the greater Detroit metropolitan area in 1992 and 2005 to evaluate how negative views of spouses, children and friends changed over time. The consensus? Each of the three age groups (20-39, 40-59 and 60 and over) viewed their spouses most negatively compared with friends and kids. The better news? That feeling typically increased over time.

And while individuals were busy getting more bugged by their spouses, their other relationships actually became less irritating over time. Why? Well, it actually makes pretty logical sense. Kids grow into mature, independent adults, making the parent's role a whole lot less demanding (and irritating). And as the saying goes ("you can pick your friends, you can pick your nose..."), we actively and highly-selectively choose our friends as we get older, so our negative feelings stay at bay by simply ditching ones that don't fit the bill.

Not exactly the way it works in partner relationships. The longer you're together, the more real your relationship gets. Sometimes that reality isn't picture perfect. His dying-to-impress you gig when you started dating can change faster than Cinderella at midnight, and your polite, I-love-everything-about-you act sometimes doesn't last long either. But that might just be the way the cookie crumbles in normal relationships.

So should all young, unattached singles out there throw in the towel on finding their happily ever after? Not yet. Researchers still seem confident about love, marriage and the happy-ending that ties it all together. While it may not be perfect or easy or pretty all the time, if you keep a healthy dose of reality (and a big bottle of mouth wash), you'll be able to work through every bothersome bump together.