Eating together ‘as vital as sex’ for a relationship

WITH so much pressure on modern couples, many find their lives falling into different timetables and routines.

Sharing mealtimes is not always easy – but a report says it’s as important as a good sex life for long-term happiness.

The study by the Marriage Foundation found that more couples who eat together say they are happy with each other than those who routinely eat apart – 67 per cent as opposed to 58 per cent.

It adds: ‘Couples who do make the decision to eat together consistently reported a higher enjoyment of their meal.’ A third of married couples and 28 per cent of cohabitees do share meals most of the time, the study says. But a fifth who are married and a quarter who are not take their meals separately most of the time.

Foundation chairman Sir Paul Coleridge, a retired High Court judge, said neglect and boredom were the biggest relationship-killers and taking the time to eat together ‘is vital to ensuring to communicate properly, undistracted by screens, and surely every bit as important as sex’.

The report admitted it was difficult to say whether eating together improved a relationship – or whether couples with good relationships were simply more likely to eat together.

It says parents of children under seven found it most difficult to eat as a family. Fewer than one in eight routinely ate together with the children.

The foundation said couples should make an effort not to be distracted by mobile phones and tablets during meals.

Based on figures from the United Kingdom Time Use Survey, covering more than 4,000 homes, the study found that most couples do put their phones down for meals. Only 14 per cent said they looked at them while eating and many said the meal was more enjoyable if they did not.