Published in The Journals of Gerontology, researchers wanted to see if there was a correlation between drinking and marital happiness, specifically among older couples.

The study found that: "Concordant drinking couples reported decreased negative marital quality over time, and these links were significantly greater among wives."

Dr. Kira Birditt spoke to Reuters about the study:

The study shows that it's not about how much they're drinking, it's about whether they drink at all.

We're not suggested that people should drink more or change the way they drink.

Birditt went on to speculate that spouses have a powerful impact on each other, giving the idea that if one were to stop drinking, the other should absolutely stop too.

Heavy drinkers were left out of the study pool.

Dr Fred Blow, from The University of Michigan, defended this choice:

Problem drinkers are a whole different kettle of fish. Serious heavy drinkers have disruptive relationships with people, particularly their partners. That’s an important issue that should be looked at going forward.

Read the full article at MSN.