Younger, smarter wives key to marital bliss: scientists

Men should marry a woman who is cleverer than they are and at least five years younger, if they want the relationship to stand the best chance of lasting, according to new research.

Men should marry a woman who is cleverer than they are and at least five years younger, if they want the relationship to stand the best chance of lasting, according to new research.

Scientists tracked 1,000 couples who were either married or in serious relationships over five years and then looked for patterns among those who were still together.

Happy Couple: The research suggests that the younger and more educated Beyonce will have a happy married life with Jay-Z.

They found that neither should have been divorced in the past, the man should be five or more years older and the woman should have received more education than the man.

The report, published in the European Journal of Operational Research, did say that men and women choose partners "on the basis of love, physical attraction, similarity of taste, beliefs and attitudes, and shared values".

But it added that using "objective factors" such as age, education and cultural origin "may help reduce divorce".

Their research suggests marital bliss for pop star Beyoncu00e9 Knowles (28), and her husband, the rap star Jay-Z, who is 11 years older at 39. She is also better educated as he did not receive a high school diploma.