According to this study, women are happier with less attractive men

We get it – looks aren’t everything. You can’t get through life relying on your appearance while harbouring a rubbish personality. However, that isn’t to say that looking good doesn’t help. For those of us who are lacking in the looks department, it seems that we may be in luck. Apparently, women like less attractive guys.

This is the conclusion of a study carried out by Tania Reynolds and Andrea Meltzer at Florida State University in the States. The researchers asked 113 newlywed couples to complete a survey which described their desires and motivation to keep fit and attractive for their partner. They also had not one, but two separate universities to effectively rate their attractiveness. This sounds like it could only go poorly.

When women are married to men who are considered to be the more attractive of the two, the woman in the relationship will feel stronger motivation to participate in acts such as dieting. The women in the study perceived the need to stay in shape and attractive to be higher should they evaluate their male partner to be capable of being with someone of higher attractiveness. Doctoral student Tania Reynolds claims:

The results reveal that having a physically attractive husband may have negative consequences for wives, especially if those wives are not particularly attractive.

On the other hand, men that feel as though their partner is out of their league will typically feel a greater level of commitment and express desire to keep their partner pleased.

So it seems as though it’s mutually beneficial then. Shoot for the stars lads.