Surprise

dle life’s rough patches better, which is certainly helpful given the current situation,” Lewandowski said in a release announcing the poll results.

• 4. Married partners are more likely than unmarried

ones to say their relationship has not changed.

About three-quarters of married couples said their relationship has not changed for better or worse since the coronavirus outbreak began, while just under two-thirds of unmarried couples said the same.

Among unmarried partners, 22% said their relationship has helped decrease

their daily stress level, compared with 12% of married couples. Similar shares of each said they have increased levels of stress.

Lewandowski posited that the pandemic hasn’t changed married couples’ relationships drastically because they’re likely to have dealt with trying times - such as a job loss,

severe illness or death of a loved one - before this moment. “They’ve traveled a lot of these paths before,” Lewandwoski said, “and have endured other stressors in their lives or relationships and have more refined strategies with how to cope with problems and stress.”

Younger people in relationships, those 18 to 34 years old, were more likely

than older people to say the pandemic has affected their relationship. (Couples in that age group are more likely to be unmarried than those who are older.)

• 5. Most say their relationship isn’t adding to pandemic stress - but women are a little more affected than men. A 59% majority said their relationship has had no impact on their daily stress level. But 29% of women said their relationship has added to their daily stress, while 23% of men said the same. The key factor for doing well during the pandemic, Lewandwoski said, is the strength of the relationship before the pandemic. “The couples who are already doing well are doing even better now,” he said.