Getting married later in life provides NO boost to wellbeing, study finds - but moving in with a new partner does

If you and your partner never got married, it might feel romantic finally tying the knot in your older age.

But it could be worth saving your pennies – as researchers have found that getting married later in life has no significant effect on wellbeing.

The team, from the University of Vienna, evaluated long-term data on 2,840 participants in the US aged between 50 and 95.

They compared how depressive symptoms and life satisfaction change when people move in with or marry a new partner.

Analysis revealed that when people over 50 enter into a new relationship and seal it by moving in together, their life satisfaction increases significantly.

‘The transition to living together with a new partner was accompanied by a significant increase in life satisfaction,’ psychologist Iris Wahring said.

However, they were surprised to find that couples who were already living together and only decided to marry later did not experience a further boost to their wellbeing by saying ‘I do’.

‘Our results show that the bonus for well-being is already achieved by sharing a life together in a partnership,’ Dr Wahring explained. ‘The marriage itself does not offer any measurable additional gain in life happiness for couples who already share a table and a bed.’

Examples of famous couples who got married later in life include Sex And The City star Kim Cattrall, 69, who wed audio engineer Russell Thomas, 54, in London at the end of last year

The team also discovered that relationship breakdowns in this age group did not lead to a measurable decline in wellbeing.

This suggests older adults have ‘remarkable’ emotional resilience or use other social resources, like friends and family, to cushion these transitions, they said.

Writing in the International Journal of Behavioural Development, the scientists said their results underscore the importance of social bonds in old age and show that new partnerships have a positive effect.

When it comes to marriage, they suggest that while living together without being married was rare and stigmatised a few decades ago, this is no longer the case.

‘This societal shift may explain why earlier studies found stronger well-being benefits when moving in was combined with marriage, whereas today, the effect of marriage alone may be less pronounced,’ they wrote.

Examples of famous couples who got married later in life include Sex And The City star Kim Cattrall, 69, who wed audio engineer Russell Thomas, 54, in London at the end of last year. 

Meanwhile Elton John was 67 when he married his long-term partner David Furnish, who was 52, in 2014. 

A separate study recently found that women are happiest before they get married. 

This graph shows a noticeable increase in life satisfaction scores in couples who moved in together. However, getting married provided no measurable additional gain in life happiness

A study of life satisfaction found their peak happiness tends to be when they are living with their partner and planning to get married in future. 

For those who do marry, any boost is short-lived, disappearing after a year and falling below pre-wedding levels, according to the research. Yet men were at their happiest when married or in a co-habiting relationship, researchers found.

Sociologists looked at 2,820 people who were surveyed about their life satisfaction, general health and mental health over 18 years.

Professor Belinda Hewitt, who led the research from the University of Melbourne, said: ‘There can be a lot of excitement and anticipation around the prospect of getting married in the future, with several fun things to look forward to like a wedding day and honeymoon.

‘That provides a real sense of purpose for a relationship, and the reassurance that the other person is very committed, which could be very satisfying for cohabiting women in this position.

‘Marriage is also a committed relationship but the anticipation of the wedding and the “project” of planning for it are gone, and replaced by a lot of expectation and pressure.

‘This may explain why life satisfaction after marriage doesn’t measure up for women, compared to when they are living with their partner and thinking about getting married.’