CARNAL NATION

The key to marital bliss is finding an older man, say British researchers. In a new report published in the European Journal of Operational Research,  scientists at the University of Bath found divorces happen at only one-sixth the average rate when  the man is at least five years older than the woman.  The Telegraph also reports that divorce is eight times less likely when the woman has a higher education level than her husband. 

Chances are bad for partnerships with significantly older women, though; their divorce rates are three times as high than couples that are the same age.  Likewise, if the husband has the better education the chance of divorce goes up.

Led by Dr Emmanuel Fragniere, these researchers tracked 1,074 Swiss couples over the course of five years.  They also found that divorce rates were lower if neither member of the couple had divorced before, but couples where both partners had been divorced before stood a better chance than couples where only one partner had previously divorced.

Apparently, marrying a much older man is the way to go; an unrelated German study released earlier this year also pointed out the health benefits for older men marrying younger women:  namely, they live a lot longer.