Physical and Sexual Attraction: Not an Obligation for Love, but a Prerequisite!

Indeed, while most respondents (54%) think that love can't exist without love physical and sexual attraction for your spouse, a very high proportion (45%) believes that it can. In other words, the population is really fairly divided on this topic.

And yet happiness appears to find more fertile ground among people who do not believe that physical and sexual attraction are necessary for love, as indicated by their RHI of 77.80, which is 3 points over those who think the contrary (74.50).

Obviously, the natural enthusiasm and naïveté of younger people are showing through because the 18–24 group heads the list (69%) in believing that love can't exist without this attraction. This viewpoint is also strongly held by single parents (64%), people living alone (63%), and individuals with lower incomes (63%).

The importance of this sexual and physical attraction diminishes over the years; 59% of people between age 55 and 64 believe that love can exist without the attraction. Yet 41% of the respondents from this segment stated the need for physical and sexual attraction. Love and physical/sexual attraction therefore maintain a close relationship, even over the years.

It is also interesting to see that couples (53%), people from families with 5 or more children (56%), and individuals with a master's degree (55%) believe that love can exist without physical and sexual attraction. These data give rise to some interesting questions about the nature of couples, families, and educational background and the types of relationships that men have with women and vice versa.