‘It’s the thing we argue about the most’: Can a drinker date a non-drinker?
As new research finds that couples with similar drinking habits have better relationships, Olivia Petter examines the consequences of having a different relationship to alcohol than your partner
They say that love, like wine, gets better in time. Well, that might only be true if you’re drinking the same amount. According to a new study, couples who drink together have better relationships – and they may even live longer, too. The report, conducted by scientists at the University of Michigan, was based on interviews with more than 4,500 married or cohabiting couples that took place every two years over the space of two decades.
Inspired by a theory known as “drinking partnership”, the study’s primary purpose was to look at alcohol use in couples and the health implications. “And we found, interestingly, that couples in which both indicated drinking alcohol in the last three months lived longer than the other couples that either both indicated not drinking or had discordant drinking patterns in which one drank and the other did not,” explained lead author, Dr Kira Birditt.
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