For women on the lookout¹ for Mr Right, it might pay to search for someone your own age.

 

According to a new study that compiled polling data from more than 3,000 recently married and divorced Americans, the closer you are in age to your husband, the greater your chances of avoiding divorce.

 

'The authors pointed² out that is a significant correlation³ between wider age gaps and increased divorce,' explained Randy Olson, a data visualizer who illustrated⁴ the study, which was published on the Social Science Research Network.

 

'Only being one to five years away from your partner is nothing to worry about, but if you’re old enough to be your partner’s parent, then your marriage might be in trouble,' he explained.

 

However, shortfalls of the study mean 'it is not possible to determine the relative percent likelihood' of a marriage's success or failure based on age alone, Mr Olson added.

 

The study, which used a multivariate model to calculate factors that best predict a marriage's chances of success, also looked at money, children, and the length of time a couple spends dating before they tie the knot.

 

Some interesting findings include: having a baby with your spouse⁵ can decrease your chances of divorce by as much as 76 percent compared to couples who do not have children.

 

And even having children out of wedlock⁶ still reduces the long-term chances of divorce, according to the study.

 

It seems that education difference matters more for women than men when it comes to marriage success.

 

Women are 50 percent more likely to end up divorced when there is an education difference versus⁷ men at only 32 percent more likely.

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