Love Across The Aisle: How Couples With Different Politics Make It Work
A couple hold hands as they walk through Central Park during a snowstorm in New York City. Drew Angerer/Getty Images hide caption
A couple hold hands as they walk through Central Park during a snowstorm in New York City.
Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesImagine you're on a date with someone new. So far, you find them funny, intelligent, and easy to talk to.
But 20 minutes in, the conversation turns to politics. It becomes clear that you don't share the same views. Do you stay on the date? Or do you leave?
Nearly 80 percent of Americans would likely make an excuse and find their way home. Only 21 percent of U.S. marriages are between individuals who don't share the same political party, according to the Institute for Family Studies. That's a 10-percentage point decrease from 2016. And of that 21 percent of politically-mixed couples, only 4 percent are relationships between Democrats and Republicans.
What does the decline in politically-mixed marriages say about the important role politics plays in our romantic relationships? And for those who are in politically dissimilar relationships, how do they make them work?
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