It’s official: Couples who get drunk together stay together

New research has found that couples who drink alcohol together are more likely to stay together in the long term.

The study, published in The Journals of Gerontology, surveyed couples and found that those who drunk alcohol together reported a more positive relationship quality over time.

The research was carried out on 2,767 couples who have been together for an average of 33 years, asking how many times a week they drank and, when started, how much alcohol they consumed.

According to the results, couples over the age 50 had much better marriages if either both or neither partners drunk alcohol.

Unsurprisingly, couples were more likely to be unhappy if only one of them was a drinker.

A summary of the study said: “Wives who reported drinking alcohol reported decreased negative marital quality over time when husbands also reported drinking and increased negative marital quality over time when husbands reported not drinking.”

Dr Kira Birditt, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, said: “We’re not sure why this is happening, but it could be that couples who do more leisure time activities together have better marital quality.

“The study shows that it’s not about how much they’re drinking, it’s about whether they drink at all.”