Study: Republicans are more likely to be happily married

GOP supporters tend to be happier with their marriages — or so they say.

A new study published by a professor at the University of Virginia reveals a significant difference in how Democrats, independents, and Republicans view their marriages. According to the study, Republicans are an average of 7 percent happier with their marriages than Democrats or independents. While 60 percent of Democrats and independents separately reported being "very happy" with their marriages, 67 percent of Republicans said they were.

Though that gap in marriage satisfaction shrank somewhat when researchers factored in demographic differences between parties — Republicans tend to be more white and more religiously observant — they still found that the gap in marriage happiness remained. Even among people with the exact same demographic profile, Republicans were still found to be somewhat happier in their marriages than their Democratic counterparts.

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Researchers pointed out that this discrepancy might reveal less about Republicans' marriages, and more about their attitudes. "Perhaps Republicans are more optimistic, more charitable, or more inclined to look at their marriages through rose colored glasses," the researchers wrote.