Is your marriage suffering from the political effects of the 2016 election? Well, count yourself lucky, because apparently Trump-related marital stress is now a thing:
New data from Wakefield Research found that one in 10 couples, married and not, have ended their relationships in a battle over political differences. For younger millennials, it's 22 percent.
And nearly one in three Americans said that political clashes over Trump have "had a negative impact on their relationship," said the report provided to Secrets.
"Since Donald Trump's election, political discourse in the U.S. has been more tense and divisive than ever," Wakefield said.
Call it the end of the Carville-Matalin era, when relationships like Clinton adviser James Carville's marriage to Bush family adviser Mary Matalin were celebrated.
"Passionately opposing points of views are not only driving wedges between strangers and even friends, but we are now seeing evidence that this dissent is having a detrimental impact on Americans' marriages and relationships," the report said.
I, for one, hate to see the end of the Carville-Matalin era. Remember the old sitcom Family Ties that was filmed during the Reagan administration? Even though the parent characters were liberal and their son Alex was a conservative, the family made it work through love and mutual respect. However, if that show were filmed in the post-Obama era, the parents would've kicked their teenaged conservative son out of the house for his triggering bigotry.
The study also reveals that 24% of Americans in relationships (42% of millennials) agree with this statement: "since President Trump was elected, they and their partner have disagreed or argued about politics more than ever." I have to believe that these crumbling relationships had something wrong with them before Donald Trump's election. But who knows? Lena Dunham accused Trump of causing her to lose weight, while Barbra Streisand said Trump caused her to gain weight. There's apparently nothing the man can't do.
Image Credit: Dan DeLuca on Flickr
