Chances are, if your wife is happy, so are you.  A new Rutgers University study finds that the more content a woman is in her marriage, the happier the man is with his life no matter how he feels about the relationship.  

(Wavebreakmedia Ltd, ThinkStock)
(Wavebreakmedia Ltd, ThinkStock)
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"We know that being happy in your marriage is linked to being happy in your life, but we haven't known previously how your spouse's views of the marriage affect your own happiness in life," said study co-author Deborah Carr, professor of Sociology at Rutgers University.  "What we found is that women's happiness in the marriage is more important to husband's happiness than a husband's marital happiness is to his wife."

It comes down to a couple of things. First, if a woman is satisfied with her marriage, she tends to do more for her husband, according to Carr. Women are also the communicators.

"If women are unhappy with their marriage, they are going to let their husband know. They are often the ones who raise the discussions and bring up the tough issues. But, likewise, if they're happy, they're likely to convey that as well," she said. "So even if the husband is not that happy with the marriage, his wife's happiness and giving of attention may boost his overall happiness in life."

The reverse does not happen though.

"Often men who aren't happy tend not to articulate that to their wives. If they don't share their views, their wives may be immune to their feelings in some way," Carr said.

The bottom line is if couples are unhappy, they need to talk about it.

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