The secret of a happy marriage? Save sex for honeymoon!

Want to know the secret of a happy marriage? Save the sex for the honeymoon, says a new study. Researchers have found that couples who marry the old-fashioned way -- delaying the joy of the wedding night -- enjoy happier marriage; in fact, it not only results in better relationships but also improves sex itself.

"Most research on the topic is focused on individuals' experiences of sex and not the timing within a relationship.

There's more to a relationship than sex but we did find that those who waited longer were happier with the sexual aspect of their relationship.

"I think it's because they've learned to talk and have the skills to work with issues that come up," the study leader Prof Dean Busby of the Brigham Young University was quoted by the 'Daily Express' as saying.

For their study, the researchers asked 2,035 married couples how soon they first had sex after they first met. Those who waited until the honeymoon were 22 per cent more likely to say their relationship was stable, and 20 per cent more likely to say it was satisfying, the findings have revealed.

They also rated the quality of their sex lives 15 per cent above those who had sex before marriage, and were 12 per cent more likely to say they communicated well with their partner.u00a0

But, those couples who jumped the gun and had sex before marriage reported around half as much of the benefits, according to the researchers.

The researchers also found that couples who were not religious also reported having better relationships if they waited before having sex.

Prof Busby added: "Regardless of how religious a couple are, waiting helps the relationship form better a communication process and this improves longterm stability and relationship satisfaction."

Texas University sociologist Mark Regnerus said the study showed that people should work on building an emotional relationship in the early stages. He added: "Couples who hit the honeymoon too early -- that is, prioritise sex promptly at the outset -- often find their relationships underdeveloped when it comes to the qualities that make them stable and spouses reliable and trustworthy."u00a0