This Is The Ideal Age Difference For A Lasting Relationship

Chances are you've met, or have been, the woman who prefers older men. Or maybe you know a Samantha who likes them young and hungry. Whether it's how you were brought up, your past, or not-so-past experiences that color your outlook, if you're looking for your love to last, we now know which age bracket to narrow your dating pool to.

A study conducted by Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia consisted of over 3,000 interviews and resulted in a simple finding: the bigger the age gap, the more likely the breakup. Also true? The smaller the age gap, the more likely they were to stay together. Big age differences in a couple are positively correlated with losing love, bot choosing someone who is your age, or at least super close to it, is more likely to lead to lingering love. 

To break it down: When compared to an equal-age couple, those with a 5 year age gap are 18% more likely to split. When that same equal-age couple group was compared to those with a 10 year gap, the breakup statistic went up to a staggering 39%.

But what if you can't find someone who was born in the same year, same month, and same day as yourself (who isn't your long lost twin)? Couples with a 1 year age gap (the man or woman can be older) are only 3% more likely to split. Awesome, that gives you a pool of people born on any of the 730 days that fall before or after your day of birth. 

But numbers aside, why is it that a lesser, or nonexistent age gap leads to a greater probability of putting a label on the relationship, a ring on it, and beyond? Some people think that people born in the same year are more similar to one another, understanding shared pop culture references, and also going through life milestones (graduating from high school, a parent passing, etc.) on roughly the same timeline, allowing for a greater sense of connectedness. 

Whatever the case may be, there are always outliers, or people whose relationships won't rise or crumble in alignment with this study's findings, but if you want to play it safe- stick with scouting someone one year older or younger!