1 Thing You Need More Than Attraction In A Lasting Relationship, By A Psychologist

InnovationScience1 Thing You Need More Than Attraction In A Lasting Relationship, By A PsychologistByMark Travers,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about relationships, personality, and everyday psychology.Follow AuthorMay 24, 2026, 09:30am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Attraction will naturally change over time. Here’s what actually sustains a lasting relationship, according to rigorous psychological research.gettyMany people, especially women, spend a painful amount of time worrying about attraction in their relationships. Will their partner still want them after having spent years together? After stress, aging, children, weight fluctuations, illness or simply the passage of time?It’s an understandable fear. Modern media is saturated with messages that treat love as something measured in terms of chemistry and desirability. In turn, we’re led to believe that if attraction fades, the relationship itself must be doomed. But psychologically speaking, attraction was never designed to carry a relationship forever.In fact, in a healthy, long-term partnership, attraction matters far less than what most people think. Even though physical connection is important, partners have to temper this with the knowledge that beauty, novelty and infatuation are inherently ephemeral. Bodies change. Routines form. Stress accumulates. Life becomes more and more ordinary. And yet, many couples have no trouble remaining deeply devoted to one another.Why? Because the relationships that last tend to be built on something far more durable than attraction alone: emotional intimacy. Research consistently proves that emotional closeness — the sense that your partner truly knows you, understands you, supports you and remains emotionally safe to turn toward — predicts long-term satisfaction far more reliably than physical attraction ever could.Here’s...