New study shows gay men more likely to stay married than straight men

A study by the UCLA School of Law’s William’s Institute followed 500 couples over 12 years in Vermont – where civil unions have been legal since 2000, and same-sex marriage since 2009. The study found gay men are more likely to stay married than their straight counterparts, but that lesbian marriages were the most likely to break up – more than twice as likely as gay men and one and half times as likely as straight marriages.

Professor Esther Ruthblum has said this could be explained by the expectations women have for relationships. “Other studies on heterosexual couples have found that women have higher standards for relationship quality than men,” Ruthblum said. “We suspect that similar dynamics may be at play with the lesbian couples in our study, leading to the higher dissolution rate.”

The study also found that the longer lesbian relationships lasted the less likely they were to break up. Every year the couple stayed together, the odds of them separating fell by 13 percent.

While another study found that more young gay men were seeking monogamous relationships than their older counterparts. 90 percent of single gay men under 40 said they wanted a monogamous relationship, and 92 percent said they intended to marry.

Kimberly Balsam, an LGBT+ researcher, has said studies like these are “crucial in combating stereotypes about same-sex couples” and would hopefully “inform policy and program development to support healthy relationships for all couples”.

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