Oscar winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin seemed to have the perfect marriage until their “conscious uncoupling” earlier this year. Was the split destined to happen? What…
Queen Victoria, writing in her journal on the day of her wedding to Prince Albert, noted: Slept well & breakfasted at 1⁄2p. 9, before which Mama came, bringing me a nosegay of orange flowers … Had…
Couple risk getting caught by the tide.
Vicki & Chuck Rogers
Your common-law wife and husband do not exist. Next month will see the latest stage in the latest attempt to improve the legal standing for people that live together but choose not to marry. With nearly…
Couples’ unconscious feelings can be used to better predict their future happiness than what they actually say, according to a study of newlyweds. The study, published in Science, followed 135 couples…
According to Human Rights Watch, 14 million girls are married, worldwide, each year - with some as young as eight or nine. While early and forced marriage appears most prevalent in countries of Africa…
A serotonin regulating gene can predict how much our relationships affect our emotions, according to a new study. Researchers…
ALP powerbroker Paul Howes has called on the party to enforce a binding vote to support same-sex marriage. But where does it fit in with the narrative of gay rights in Australia?
AAP/Dave Hunt
Suddenly, it seems the Right faction of the Australian Labor Party has embraced gay causes - or as we now say, LGBTI ones. On the campaign trail for the party leadership, Bill Shorten floated the idea…
Restoring the tax break for married couples has long been a Conservative Party commitment, and one they now intend to pursue this autumn. The outgoing Chief Rabbi, Lord Sacks, has now – from a non-party…
Ronnie and Jo Wood pre silver separation.
Sean Dempsey/PA
Longer and healthier lives mean more married couples in their 60s are spying the possibility of second chances. Office for National Statistics figures released yesterday suggest the trend for “silver separators…
You are the one, lemur. Stay with me.
Tambako The Jaguar
While people cheating on their partners is frowned upon in modern society, monogamy among mammals is something of an evolutionary puzzle. Some stick to one sexual partner for a lifetime. That is why the…
Love is still a modern goal, and its connection with individual freedom, agency and autonomy makes it a difficult idea to reject.
Peetje2
Earlier this year, Byron Bay mayor Simon Richardson announced that he wants his council to pass a motion recognising same-sex marriage and to set up a “love park”. That the theme of the park is love rather…
The failure to account for significant social and cultural differences throws doubt on the study’s results.
Shutterstock
Research about the impact of marriage between first cousins on rates of birth defects garnered much media attention when it was published late last week. Sadly, most of the coverage worked to alarm rather…
Some babies more at risk from genetic defects from first cousin marriages.
Flickr/Tella Chhe
Having a baby with a first cousin more than doubles the risk of congenital problems such as heart and lung defects, cleft palettes and extra fingers, according to the largest study of its kind in the UK…
How would you react if you opened tomorrow’s newspaper and were met with the headline, “Children of sole parents more likely to be abused”? If you’re socially conservative, you may feel affirmed in your…
Depending on the condition a couple risk passing to their child, testing can be offered as carrier screening.
Shirl/Flickr
Marriages between people who are related is more common than you might think. Unlike what many people think, their offspring are not doomed to birth defects or medical problems. In fact, unless they both…