Do you also plump your partner on the couch every night to watch B&B full of love? That appears to be very good for the preservation of your relationship. Tila Pronk, relationship scientist and university teacher at Tilburg University, explains why.
Pronk cites an American study, which looked at what couples can do in the long term to prevent a divorce. As part of the research, some couples watched films about relationships for several years in a row. And according to Pronk: three years later, the chance of a divorce was halved if you had watched those films.
Reality program B&B full love is used by Pronk as an example of a series that can have a similar effect. In the television program, Bed and Breakfast owners who live abroad go for love. The program attracts an average of around 1.5 million viewers per episode.
But how is it possible that looking at these types of series has a positive effect on your relationship? “You look together and talk about the behavior that you see with those other couples. That intimate moment on the couch is very binding. It appears to predict in the long term whether or not you are breaking apart.”
This is also recognized in a survey on the street by Omroep Brabant. “We are often really in a dent when we look at the B&B full of love program, so that’s really fun,” says Lisanne, who walks through Tilburg with her partner Pieter. “We will discuss that together. That you see a couple on TV and think: what are they doing? Or that they treat each other very much.” This also involves a piece of shared irritation: “We often find the same people annoying,” says Pieter.
And that also appears to be very healthy, says Pronk. “If you are annoyed by one candidate together, that is of course fantastic. Then you think: we think the same thing, we look alike. And then you feel more intimacy.”
Watch B&B full of love together? These are the reactions on the street in Tilburg:
But even if the irritations are with you and your partner with different people, it can yield something beautiful according to the scientist. “Then you can talk to each other:” What do you find so annoying? ” And “what do you like?”
Pronk himself can also enjoy an evening of B&B full of love. “It is really a moment that I am very looking forward to. Of course I look with my partner and are talking about the couples we see,” says Pronk. There is sometimes the necessary discussion. “We don’t always agree, but you don’t have to.”