It’s like two peas in a pod: why do we choose partners who are similar to ourselves?

They say opposites attract. And this is partly true. The romance of such couples can be bright, but the relationship itself often becomes unstable. In ordinary life, it is much more common to encounter couples who might be mistaken for relatives from the outside. By taking the stars as an example, we explain why we unconsciously choose partners who are similar to ourselves.

My light, my mirror, tell me, am I the sweetest in the world?

Scientists at the University of Michigan noticed this pattern in 1987 while comparing photos of couples in long-term relationships. It turns out that not only their phenotypes, but even their emotions and facial wrinkles are the same. This theory was later confirmed by an interesting experiment conducted in 2013. Test participants were asked to rate the attractiveness of random people based on photographs. The caveat here is that the faces in the photo were created by a computer program. As a result, subjects found attractive faces as close as possible to their own parameters. In some cases, participants chose photos of people who looked like their parents.

In 2014, Ben Domingue, a researcher at Stanford Graduate School, concluded that the choice of partners and even friends is influenced not only by general society and cultural background, but also by similar genes. The thought that we might choose a partner or relative who is similar to ourselves may frighten some people. Ultimately, this is either narcissism or, worse, a tendency towards perversion.

In his 2018 book Tell Me What You Want: The Science of Sexual Desire and How It Can Help You Improve Your Sex Life, Purdue University professor Justin Lehmiller attributed man’s tendency to choose someone from his “own tribe” to fear of the unknown. comes with this exotic. Moreover, partners most likely have the same immunity. It follows from this that they will pass on the same tendency to diseases to their offspring.

Celebrity couples who look alike

Regardless of social attitudes and fashion standards, you cannot control your heart. A face that is unattractive to one person will become the most valuable face to another. You should not change your natural facial features just for this reason. After all, as they say, do not drink water from your face.

Among the beautiful star couples who are difficult to mistake for relatives: Justin and Hailey Bieber, Dylan Sprouse and Barbara Palvin, Kaia Gerber and Austin Butler, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen, Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter, Dmitry and Elena Malikov, Elizaveta Boyarskaya, Maxim Matveev, Peter Sarsgaard and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Adam and Jackie Sandler, Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara.