Opposites Don’t Actually Attract in Relationships, New Study Finds

When it comes to love, it turns out opposites don't attract after all. That's the conclusion of a new study that looked at more than 130 traits in millions of heterosexual couples over more than a century. The first author says, "Our findings demonstrate that birds of a feather are indeed more likely to flock together."

Researchers analyzed data collected from engaged, married, and cohabiting couples, as well as co-parents, from 1903 to 2022. In 82 to 89% of the traits, the results showed partners were much more likely to be similar. Traits like political and religious attitudes, level of education, and substance use habits showed the highest correlations. Height, weight, medical conditions, personality traits, and sexual experience showed lower but still positive associations.

The researchers say they found no compelling evidence that opposites attract, though they did identify a few traits where differences were more common, like morning and night people pairing up. The researchers are currently studying the impact of traits in same-sex relationships.