Commuting Could Destroy Your Marriage

If it takes you or your partner 45 minutes or more to get to work, treat your marriage with care: It's 40% more likely to fall apart, according to Swedish researchers whose nationwide study looked at couples from 1995 to 2005. You may, however, have less to worry about if the commuter in your relationship is a woman. Men who have a long commute, the study finds, are more likely than long-traveling women to bail on a relationship. And that breakup is more likely to happen in the initial years of commuting.

In fact, if you and your partner can stay together for five years of commuting, you're significantly more likely to be together for good, OZY reports. Why? "There could be another selection process at work there as well, that the 'weaker' relationships can’t take that kind of strain in the first place," the study's lead author tells the Local. OZY points out a bit of good news for US readers: The average commute here is 25 minutes. (This week's other big marriage-focused study looked at the advantages of not having kids.)