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Science: You Can't Fake Romance
 The jokes of older married couples having or showing no romantic connection to one another is tired and boring. Fortunately, there's a new study that proves otherwise. Functional MRIs were taken of 10 married men and women who had been married for an average of 21 years. They were then shown pictures of their spouse and the brain waves reacted, showing a calm and attachment, with a view of their partner as central to their lives, and who they continue to want connection and engagement and maintain a sexual liveliness. It's about time we start looking at our own brain images instead of the trite marriage references we often see in TV, movies and elsewhere. Click here to read the complete article.Labels: real people, romance, study
Dying of a Broken Heart
 Have you ever noticed that when half of a longtime couple passes away, the other partner passes soon after? Researchers at the University of Glasgow found that widows and widowers were at least 30 percent more likely to die of any cause in the first six months following a spouse's death than those who hadn't lost a partner. They followed over 4,000 couples. Many experts in this article from MSNBC say that context matters, meaning older couples with deteriorating health are at higher risk. More amazing is what Rollin McCraty, research director at the Institute of HeartMath in Boulder Creek, Calif., found after he studied six longtime couples' hearts while they slept. While they were sleeping beside each other their heart rhythms fell into sync, rising and falling at the same time. Their EKG printouts looked virtually identical. So imagine sleeping in perfect harmony with your spouse for 50 years and having that ripped away. "Is it possible to die of a broken heart?" asks Dr. Hope Wechkin, the medical director of Evergreen Hospice in Kirkland, Wash. "Absolutely." Labels: health, real people, romance, study
Secret to Happy Marriage: 4 Hugs a Day
 A study, which this article from the Telegraph doesn't say from where, says four hugs a day is a key to a happy marriage. The study interviewed 4,000 couples and also found many other secrets. Like the four hugs, many are surprisingly specific. For example, seven evenings in together every month with two proper dinner dates. Another is two romantic walks a month and at least one visit to a pub or cinema without the children or other friends. Other highlights from the study are: - Husbands should give their wife flowers or another gift at least once a month - People to spend at least one evening away from their partner a month What's the secret to your happy marriage? Labels: advice, date night, real people, romance, study
New Crop of Romantic Dramas
 If you pay attention to movie previews, you may have noticed their are a bunch of new romantic dramas about to hit the big screen. First up is Nights in Rodanthe starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane being released September 26th. Next up is Australia starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman and being released on November 26th. Finally, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet reunite for the first time since they made history in Titanic for their new movie Revolutionary Road to be released in January. Australia and Revolutionary Road are both period pieces, Australia taking place during World War II and Revolutionary Road in the 1950s. More about these movies can be found here. Of these movies, what are you most excited to see? Labels: celebrity, entertainment, romance
Renew Vows to Save Marriage
 Renewing your vows is a tradition of reminder and putting the spotlight back on your commitment to each other. For some couples that may have lost their ways, renewing your vows may help refocus your marriage and get it back on track. Dawn O. Braithwaite, professor of communication studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has researched couples who opt to renew their vows. She says "I would not advise anyone to do this out of desperation and say, 'I'm going to save my marriage. This is like the icing on the cake." But even if it is a last resort, Susan Heitler, a Denver-based clinical psychologist and author of "The Power of Two" says a renewal of vows can be a fresh start for those who are still very much in love, but who cannot seem to get the hang of married life. This article from ABC News highlights celebrities who are doing it and suggests that if a few of them find success for their rocky marriages, then it could become a more popular trend. Have you ever renewed your vows? Labels: celebrity, commentary, event, romance
The Secret to Successful Date Nights
 Arthur Aron, a professor of social psychology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook has conducted many tests, brain scans and other real world experiments to come up with the solution to stale date nights. The secret, he says is to inject novelty into the relationship. For example try a new restaurant or something more unusual or thrilling that takes you out of your usual environment and experiences like an amusement park. Here's the reasoning according to the article in the NY Times: The theory is based on brain science. New experiences activate the brain’s reward system, flooding it with dopamine and norepinephrine. These are the same brain circuits that are ignited in early romantic love, a time of exhilaration and obsessive thoughts about a new partner. (They are also the brain chemicals involved in drug addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder.) The results of Aron's study revealed those who had undertaken the “exciting” date nights showed a significantly greater increase in marital satisfaction than the “pleasant” date night group. (This is an older article from NY Times so you'll have to log in--which is free). Labels: date night, romance, study
Couple Mark 70 Years of Marriage
 British couple Arthur Lewis, 93, and Irene, 88 married on July 30, 1938 and just celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. For their 60th and 65th anniversaries they received messages from the Queen. No royal congratulations this time, but they are satisfied with two prior recognitions. So what's the secret to their success? Mr Lewis said they had always managed to settle their disagreements. "We've had differences of opinion over quite a lot of things," he said. "But we never went to bed on an argument. We didn't make a big issue out of things, we've been partners in everything." What's the secret to your marriage success? Labels: advice, real people, romance
Limited Edition Lingerie
 If you're looking for a little something special to surprise your wife with, a German web retailer Edition12 is releasing limited edition lingerie. Each lingerie collection is sold with only 120 pieces available, while all lingerie is only available for one month and each piece has a unique number assigned to it. The only problem is that being a European company, they run on the Euro, which is kicking the butt of the U.S. dollar. So the $190 euro lingerie will run you roughly $298 U.S. bones. The good news is that they offer free shipping worldwide. Enjoy! Labels: fashion, fun, romance
Perfect Husband Tips
 Best Life magazine author Hugh O'Neill has written an article giving numerous tips on how to be the perfect husband. Do these tips work? Apparently for O'Neill they do, considering he proclaims to be the world's best husband. I actually think it's pretty cool that he makes this claim. Why not be prideful in being a great spouse? Anyway, here are some of his tips: 1. Kill the words "never" and "always." O'Neill explains that they're gas on fire words. 2. Save and focus your "husband" attention at pivotal times throughout the day. For example, when you come home from work and meet up with your spouse, that's a good time to focus your energy on being a good husband. 3. Laugh at your wife's attempts at humor. O'Neill says it's a sign of respect. O'Neill has more tips, but you'll have to click here to read them. Also, what's your best tip for being a good spouse? Click here are start a discussion. Labels: advice, commentary, men, romance
Wife and Husband Wrestle for Olympic Gold
 This weekend is the Olympic team trials for U.S. wrestlers. By the end of today, we'll know which women will represent the U.S. in the Olympics in the sport of wrestling. Patricia Miranda has been there before. She is the first American female wrestler to ever win an Olympic medal, a bronze in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Her husband, Levi Weikel-Magden is also a wrestler. The two met at Stanford University when they were both on the wrestling team. He later became her coach and has encouraged her to come out of retirement for one last shot at Olympic gold. This article from the NY Times tells how this husband and wife team got to where they are today, through illness, law school, sweat and sacrifice. It also tells the struggles of mixing their professional life with their home life. One highlight from the article is a story of how Levi brought home some new toothbrushes and then proceeded to try and tell Miranda how to use them. Miranda's reply, “You can’t coach me on how to brush my teeth!” Watch out Levi, she'll take you down. Labels: entertainment, event, romance, women, work
Husband and Wife Soldiers Bunk Together
 In a new change in policy, the U.S. military is now allowing husbands and wives to live and sleep together in a war zone. This rule took change back in May 2006. This article from the AP says that there are more than 10,000 couples in the military, although it doesn't specify if "couple" means married. Not that it matters. The military is attempting to boost morale, as well as improve the divorce rates that continue to offer its own mounting numbers of casualties. This article tells some first person stories and also addresses some of the risks, such as an increase in pregnancy. Labels: news, pregnancy, real people, romance
Valentine's Day Recipes
 Looking to make a special meal for your sweetheart? The good people at FoodTV has an entire section of their website dedicated to Valentine's recipes for two. They've got it broken down into several sections, including Recipes for Romance, Kids Corner, Five Valentine's Cookies from One Simple Dough, Our Romantic Valentine's Dinner for Two, and more. There's also videos you can watch, including The Freaky Deaky Love Potion. Are you making your spouse a special dinner for Valentine's Day? Click here to go to the FoodTV page. Labels: food, holidays, romance
Special Podcast for Valentine's Day
 If you're not a regular listener to our podcast, now's the time to start. For the first time, we have a special podcast in the middle of the week. Dr. Trina Read, our Sexpert, was kind enough to give us a few minutes of her time to explain how couples can use Valentine's Day to initiate fun and play into your sex life. The entire podcast is less than 10 minutes and well worth it. Who knows, you might even become a regular listener. Here's looking forward to a Happy Valentine's Day. Click here to go to and listen to the podcast. Labels: advice, holidays, romance, sex
Buying the Best Chocolate for Your Valentine
 Yahoo! Personals has an article about how to buy the best chocolate. The author defines five characteristics to keep an eye on. The first and noted most important is the freshness of the chocolate. To avoid months old chocolate, the author recommends avoiding supermarkets and instead patronizing specialty chocolate shops. Another item of note is to not worry about any diet! Well, unless your spouse is a diabetic, in which case he says there are few low-glycemic index chocolates. Finally, another item to look out for is flavor. Make sure you get a flavor that your spouse likes. What's wrong with pure dark chocolate? Hitched says not a thing. Labels: food, holidays, romance
Confessions Report
 The 2008 Harlequin Romance Report has just been released and this year's focus is on confessions. For the survey, over 2,000 men and women confessed throughout the U.S. and Canada. This report does include some non-married related information, but it's still good information and offers something for the married folks. For example, 42 percent of men and 41 percent of women say their anniversary is the most important date of the year. We thought that was surprising, more men saying the anniversary was more important than women. It must be the other 58 percent of men who forget the anniversary. Another survey result found that 61 percent of men and 50 percent of women agreed that it's okay to lie when your significant other asks, "Do I look fat in this?" The survey also includes non-relationship information within the confession theme. As an example, 16 percent of men and 28 percent of women say they would undergo cosmetic surgery if no one ever found out about it. To read the complete report, click here. Labels: romance, study
Real Love Letters
 If you're looking to write your spouse a lover letter and you're looking for inspiration be sure to check out "Other People's Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See" by Bill Shapiro. The book offers reprints of real love letters (as the title indicates); some of the letters are sweet, others intimate and some offer a look at the ugly and make you glad you're in a happy and stable relationship. To make the letters even more engaging, they're scanned from images of letters on everything from napkins to barf bags. You can find the book here.Labels: book, real people, romance
Spider-Man and Mary Jane Call it Quits
 Regular readers of Marvel Comics' famed Spider-Man comic book are up in arms, according to USA Today, over the roughly 21 year marriage between Spider-Man and Mary Jane ending. We don't usually cover divorce, but of course, this story has a twist. In order to save Mary Jane's life, Spider-Man made a deal with the devil-like character, Mephisto, to save her life. In return, however, Mephisto would erase all memory of their marriage together. That's right, all memories of their marriage--gone! That got us thinking, would you erase the memories of your marriage in order to save your spouse? Or would you let nature take its course. Click here to read the whole article from USA Today. Labels: celebrity, entertainment, romance
A Lotta Love Letters
 Patricia, 60, and Alton Hassell, 62, have been married for nearly 40 years. For the last 28 years, they've been writing each other love letters--every day! They met at Baylor and married before their senior year in 1968, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald. They would write love letters off and on to each other until 1980, when Alton decided they should up the ante and commit to a daily practice of it. Patricia was eight months pregnant and already looking after their 2-year-old thought that kind of commitment was perhaps a bit too much. The notebooks that they've written their letters in now weight more than 100 pounds. That's a lotta love. Every night before bed, they write their letters, exchange them, then discuss them. They say it's helped them keep the lines of communication open, through the good times and not so good. When was the last time you wrote your spouse a love letter? Labels: real people, romance
The World Believes In Marriage
 A survey by ACNielsen, which got responses from over 25,000 consumers who were polled online in 46 countries last December revealed their views on love, romance and marriage. "Seventy percent of people surveyed say that marriage is for life (with American consumers topping the list at 78 percent) and three out of five (60 percent) saying that marriage is one of their lifetime goals," said Patrick Dodd, President, ACNielsen, Europe. Another surprising result is that in the U.S., more men than women believed that marriage is for life and relevant in today's society. The study goes on to give highlighted results from various countries, some surprising, some not. To view all the highlights, click here.Labels: romance, study
The Meaning of Flowers
 Whether we're celebrating an anniversary or trying to make up, we give flowers to show that we care. But are the flowers you bring home really saying that you care? About.com breaks down an impressive list of flowers and what they mean. Here are just a few examples: ALSTROMERIA: Wealth, prosperity, fortune. ARBUTUS: Thee only do I love. CARNATION: Fascination, distinction, divine love, woman, yes. Also the birthflower for January. CHRYSANTHEMUM, WHITE: Truth, loyal love. GLOXINA: Love at first sight. HIBISCUS: Delicate beauty. HYACINTH, RED OR PINK: Play. JASMINE, SPANISH: Sensuality. PRIMROSE: I can't live without you. ROSE, BURGUNDY: Beauty within. SALAL: Zest. ZINNIA, WHITE: Goodness. Read the full list here.Labels: entertainment, romance
Message In a Bottle
 On August 18 of this year, Melody Kloska and Matt Behrs were married on a Lake Michigan beach. To seal their vows, they wrote them, stuck them in a bottle and tossed the bottle into Lake Michigan. A few weeks later, the bottle was discovered on the other side of the lake sticking out of the sand. Lynnette Dubendorf of Mears, Mich. found the bottle while picking up litter off the beach. She opened it, read the vows and realized an amazing coincidence. Her and her husband Fred, were also married on a beach at Lake Michigan and on the exact same day 28 years prior. Lynnette first thought about ignoring the letter, afraid others would toss items into the late and pollute it, but then decided the newly married couple would like to know. Read the full article on Yahoo! here.Labels: news, real people, romance
111 Across: "Will You Marry Me?"
 Aric Egmont of Cambridge, Massachusetts had plotted for months. And it happened. A long time fan of the Boston Globe Sunday magazine crossword puzzle, Egmont contacted the writers and asked if they would grant him a special request; to allow one of the answers to read "Will You Marry Me?" His girlfriend Jennie Bass, also a fan of the crossword, sat down with Egmont on that Sunday and began to fill in the answers. When she came to 111 Across she was presented with the clue "Generic Proposal." Luckily for Egmont, his girlfriend is good and filled the question mark inside his head with a "YES." Congratulations! For more click here. Labels: entertainment, news, real people, romance
Russians Offer Car for Baby
 That's right, if you're a citizen of Russia and you're looking for a new set of wheels, close your curtains and take part in a Day in Conception on Sept. 12. Ulyanovsk Gov. Sergei Morozov wants Russians to procreate--even allowing them to take off work. To do so, the government is offering incentives, like cars, refrigerators and money and other prizes for couples who deliver 9 months later on June 12, Russia's national day. So why the incentives? Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the population has also fallen. Russia is the largest country in the world, yet by 2050, it's projected that they may have fewer than 100 million citizens. Signing off: From Russia With Love. Labels: holidays, kids, news, real people, romance, sex
Best Marriage Advice Received
 So you're probably expecting a pearl of wisdom from the hitched team (and we can't blame you), but over at About.com, they've put together some reader comments of the best marriage advice they've ever received. Some of the comments are lame cliches and old jokes, but here are some of the better nuggets: "Don't fight over money because there is never enough to go around anyway." "My dad told me to always communicate with each other. I think I have been more honest with my husband than anyone else in my life." "My dad told me 'try to outdo each other in kindness.'" What's the best marriage advice you've ever received? Post it on our message board. Labels: advice, romance
Interracial Marriage Pioneers
 Forty years ago Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Mildred Jeter (a black woman) and Richard Loving (a white man), overturning laws prohibiting interracial unions. Mildred, who took Richard's last name after they got married spoke with the Associated Press about this historic event. The Lovings were living in segregated Virginia when they got married and quickly found themselves in jail. When all was said and done, they had created the foundation for the changing face of America. It's scary to think that just a few decades ago, interracial couples went to jail for their love. We should be thankful for the courage the Lovings have shown. Click here to read the full article.Labels: celebrity, holidays, news, romance
Invest In Your Wife
 If you were worth billions of dollars, would you give your wife a couple million to help her start a business? Sergey Brin, a co-founder of Google has married Anne Wojcicki and according to SEC filings invested $3.9 million in her business 23andMe. 23andMe's website says by encouraging individuals to learn about their own genetic information, the company will create a common, standardized resource that has the potential to accelerate drug discovery and bring personalized medicine to the public. Sounds like a worthwile cause for the new, ultimate power couple! Click here to read the article in NY Times. Labels: money, news, resource, romance
Some Date Night Ideas
 Yahoo! Personals has 27 date ideas. They seperate them into categories for "artistic types", "charity givers", "sports lovers", "travel buffs" and more. Some of the date ideas include: attending an art show, watch a minor league game, racecar driving school and more. Do you have unique dating ideas that you'd like to share with the other readers? Go to our message board and start the conversation. Get the full list hereLabels: entertainment, romance
NFL Network's Rich Eisen Is Compensatory Pick
 Rich Eisen, the face of the NFL Network received an e-mail from Philly anchorwoman Alycia Lane. The e-mail contained seven pictures of Lane in a bikini. The problem, Lane sent the e-mails to an address Eisen shares with his wife, ABC sideline reporter Suzy Shuster. It looks like Lane was trying to draft a guy who was already under contract. Shuster commented in this article that she replied and even gave Lane her husband's solo e-mail address! Now that's trust. Again according to the article, here's the e-mail Shuster sent back: "Boy, do you look amazing in a bikini . . . congrats! Whatever you're doing, (Pilates? yoga?) keep doing it - it's working for you. Anyway, sorry but those seven e-mails you sent to my husband, Rich, well, oops, they came to the e-mail address we both use from time to time, but no worries, I'll forward the beach shots as well as the ones of you dancing with your friends on to his main address. Do you have it?" How would you react? Who knew Eisen was this generation's Ron Burgundy? Comment about this on our message boards.Labels: celebrity, entertainment, news, romance
Love Letters From The Persain Gulf
 It's something Hollywood couldn't even produce. According to "The Pueblo Chieftain," Persian Gulf veteran Captain Steve Belgum of Irvine California "wasn't expecting much" when he began receiving letters from Lynda Severson of Minnesota back in 1991. It was the beginning of Operation Desert Storm when Lynda picked a name off a list, after a friend had urged her to "write to a Marine," that would ultimately end up being Steve. Long story short, the two exchanged letters and began to fall in love. Nearly three years later the two would marry on Memorial Day weekend in Lynda's hometown of Hutchinson, Minnesota. The story of the couples courtship is told in a new book titled "Grace Under Fire: Letters of Faith in Times of War." Labels: news, romance
Dreamed Up Phone Number Leads to Marriage
 You know when you meet new people and they ask how you and your spouse met? Well, imagine the reaction this British fellow gets when he tells his story. David Brown, 24, says he woke up one morning after a night out with friends with a telephone number constantly running through his head. He decided to contact it, sending a message saying "Did I meet you last night?," according to this Yahoo! News article. Long story short, the two exchanged text messages, met eachother, courted for a while, fell in love and married. All from numbers floating in his head. How crazy would it be if they were the numbers from Lost??? 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 42 (click here to go to the wiki page on these magic numbers)Labels: news, romance
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