Mutual longevity may hold the secret to wedded bliss

It was Mrs Merton who infamously put the question to Debbie McGee: “What was it that first attracted you to your husband, the millionaire magician Paul Daniels?” And yes, sometimes it’s money although, if we pinned our expectations on that one, most of us would have been long since disappointed.

The more romantic among us might suggest it was eyes that locked across a crowded room; the more cynical might admit that locked had something to do with it alright – but the eyes were bloodshot as a result.

The experts will tell you that couples are drawn by everything from the magnetism of power to a good sense of humour – but new research suggests another factor . . . the genetic predisposition to live just as long as each other.

There’s no way you could actually know that, of course, and not many twenty-somethings are thinking about mortality in the first place – but this study suggests that you may have been subliminally influenced by the notion that you shared a similar timespan on the notion of ‘till death do us part’.

And when you think about it, you often find that, when one older person dies, the remaining partner isn’t all that far behind them.

The romantics again would have you believe that they died of a broken heart – but the medics would tell you that their heart had the same life span as that of their predeceased partner’s and they only got the extra squeeze out of it in the finish.

Of course, a couple with similar views on health and diet might encourage each other to live longer – non-smokers, teetotallers, gym bunnies, morning swimmers; they are all doing their bit to keep the Grim Reaper at arm’s length.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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