'Happy wife, happy life': Decade-old stereotype dispelled by U of A research
A study completed by a researcher at the University of Alberta has found the old saying "happy wife, happy life" isn’t the key to a happy, healthy relationship.
“People just latched onto this idea and it’s become common belief,” Matthew Johnson, a U of A relationship researcher and lead author on the study, said in a news release.
“There’s still that thought or expectation that women have unique attention to the relational side of things,” he said.
The study used data from 10 Canadian, American and German studies that checked in with 901 mixed-gender couples daily for 21 days and 3,405 mixed-gender couples assessed each year for five years.
When asked about their relationships, men’s satisfaction levels were just as significant as those of their female partners when predicting their future happiness.
“The experience of both partners matters, regardless of gender,” said Johnson.
This study is the first to test the "happy wife, happy life" theory that emerged in the 1970s.
“Men and women have equal ability and, with that, the shared responsibility for directing the course of their relationship,” Johnson said.
He said it’s up to both partners to be responsible for the good and bad in a relationship.
“If what is happening in your relationship is good, double down on that so you can reap those rewards into the future,” said Johnson.
“If what’s happening is not what you’d hoped for in your life, make changes now, because if the relationship is struggling, it’s going to continue to struggle unless you act.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.