These Are the Little Lies People Most Often Tell Their Partners
“Sweetie, that new shirt looks great on you.”
“Babe, this pasta is amazing.”
“Honey, I’d love to hear your speech for tomorrow’s conference.”
If you claim to have never said any of these little white lies — or some variation of them — then you’re probably lying… again. Lies can actually function in multiple ways, aside from, say, malicious deception. For instance, they can keep the peace (e.g., “I think your sister is great!”), or they can save others from further insecurity (“No, I can’t tell you’ve gained a few pounds”). So as important as honesty and open communication are, especially in romantic relationships, lies (the little ones, of course) aren’t all bad. Superdrug, a UK-based online doctor and pharmacy service, conducted a survey of more than 1,000 people who have been in a relationship for a year or longer to find out what fibs both men and women are most likely to tell their boos.
Nearly 75 percent of the respondents admitted to lying to their partners. However, of this group, 85 percent still say they are satisfied in their relationship. This percentage is just slightly lower than the 90 percent of people are satisfied in their relationships yet don’t lie to their partners.
So what kind of lies are these people telling, exactly? Women’s top three lies are about their opinions of their partner’s gifts for them, their partner’s family, and their partner’s cooking. Interestingly, there is some significant overlap with men’s untruths. Men are most likely to lie about their partner’s weight, their partner’s gifts for them, and their partner’s cooking.
Ultimately, even though the content of the lies isn’t totally consistent across genders, the intention is generally the same: to spare the partner’s feelings, especially when doing anything otherwise is not essential. And because preserving our S.O.’s happiness is (hopefully) so important to us, it should come as no surprise that we’d really, uh, prefer they don’t find out the truth.
Of the little lies women tell their partners, they’d be most hesitant to confess their true opinions of their partner’s family, their partner’s sexual abilities, and their partner’s gifts to them. Again, men are somewhat on the same page, this time with hesitancy admitting their true thoughts on their partner’s weight, their partner’s family, and their partner’s friends.
Despite this across-the-board reluctance to tell the truth, about 47 percent of women and 48 percent of men have fessed up to some of their fibs at one point or another — and likely not for the worse. Of the men and women who opted to tell their partners the truth, 66 percent of women and 75 percent of men say the honesty strengthened their relationship in the end, especially when the confessed lies related to their thoughts on their partner’s family, taste in pop culture, and job.
So, if we learned anything from the results of this survey, it’s that innocent, well-intentioned lies won’t have too much of an impact on our relationships. But, perhaps, the more important lesson is that the toughest conversations are often the ones most worth having, especially when it comes to bettering relationships and deepening bonds.
RELATED: 7 Ways to Reconnect With Your S.O.
(Photo via Getty)
