Research Shows Romantic Relationships Matter More to Men Than Women Despite Stereotypes

What was said

"Men strive harder to establish romantic relationships. They fall in love faster. They benefit more from relationships, depend more on their relationships for social support, are less likely to initiate breakups, suffer more in the wake of a breakup, and take longer to get over their exes."

Williamson discussed forthcoming research from Steve Stewart-Williams published in Behavioral and Brain Sciences that contradicts common assumptions about gender and romance. The paper finds men invest more emotionally in relationships across multiple dimensions, potentially because men lack social support networks outside their partnerships while women maintain broader friend circles. Men also tend to absorb their wife's social network upon marriage and lose it entirely in divorce.