Research has shown couples have date nights regularly - such as the Cameron's and the Obama's - are less likely to split up. The study by the Marriage Foundation, a think-tank addressing the breakdown of long-term relationships, has found having a date once a month increases the couple’s chance of maintaining the relationship for a decade by 14%.
However for those, like the Cameron’s, having a date night once a week has no additional benefit. And for cohabiting couples a date has a less significant effect than those who are married.
Research director of the Marriage Foundation, Harry Benson, says “For married couples, date night has a meaning. For the typical cohabiting couple, with a little less clarity and more ambiguity about the prospect of their whole lives together, the occasional night out has less meaning. It's less intentional, simply a night out.”
In another study based on official data, young couples faced with then twin pressures of work and childcare struggle to support an element of romance in their relationships. The study based on figures released by the Office for National Statistics shows the number of people in unhappy relationships went up to 1 million between 2010 and 2014.
The Marriage Foundation said the chances of staying together is based on other, more significant factors. Breakups among married couples are 57% less than cohabiting couples. Education also plays an important role, with graduates less likely to break up that the less well educated. Age is also a contribution, the older the couple, the more likelihood of saying together.
