Is Marriage Good for Your Health and Longevity?

June 19, 2026

A mature man and woman stroll down a footpath beside a row of terrace houses in a beautiful residential district

For decades, studies have suggested that married people are healthier and live longer than unmarried people, but whether marriage actually benefits your health depends on many factors.

“There are multiple ways marriage can benefit people’s health and longevity,” says Gunnur Karakurt, LMFT, PhD, a licensed marriage and family therapist at University Hospitals. “It’s not necessarily the marriage itself, but the quality of the relationship that matters most.”

How Supportive Relationships Protect Health

People who are married tend to live about two years longer than unmarried people. Research suggests there are several factors that may contribute to health and longevity in strong, supportive marriages, including:

Healthier lifestyles: Dr. Karakurt says one reason married couples in healthy relationships may live a little longer is that they support each other in making choices that are good for their health. “They often influence each other’s daily habits, including what they eat, how they sleep and how they take care of themselves,” she says. “They also help keep each other accountable.”
Better emotional support: Good relationships can also help people cope with stress, which can improve both health and mental health, says Dr. Karakurt. “There is more empathy and support,” she says. “When something is going on, you can talk to your partner and work together to find solutions to problems that come up.” That kind of support in strong, healthy relationships can make people feel more stable, both physically and emotionally.
Larger social networks: Along with support from each other, support from family and friends can help reduce stress and feelings of isolation for married couples. “When stressful situations arise, the couple has more people to lean on for help and emotional support,” says Dr. Karakurt. Strong social connections can also help protect overall well-being by lowering the risk of conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, inflammation, cognitive decline, anxiety and depression.
Increased economic advantages: Being married typically involves living together and sharing resources, which can help make living expenses more affordable for couples. Research also suggests that people who are healthier and more financially secure tend to marry partners who are also healthier and wealthier. These shared advantages may increase access to healthcare and create other opportunities to maintain good health over the long term.

Why Men Get More Benefits From Marriage Than Women

Though recent studies suggest the gap may be narrowing, men seem to gain more benefits from being married than women. “As in any social science, it's very difficult to give a definite answer about why men benefit more from marriage on average,” says Dr. Karakurt. “Some studies suggest that men may receive more emotional support from a spouse, along with encouragement to maintain healthy habits, which may contribute to better health and a longer life.”

Women often engage in more “invisible labor,” including things like caregiving, maintaining the household, coordinating the couple’s social life and managing the emotional aspects of the relationship. This is work that often goes unrecognized. “It may depend on who is in the caregiving role, but women tend to take on more caregiving, so if they are not receiving the same level of care from their husbands, they’re less likely to see as much of a benefit from the marriage.”

The Quality of the Relationship Matters

Dr. Karakurt emphasizes that while marriage is often linked to better health and longevity, those benefits depend largely on the relationship being healthy and supportive. “If there’s a lot of conflict in the marriage and that conflict isn’t being managed well, or if there is abuse or distrust, the marriage is not going to be beneficial – it’s going to be harmful,” she says.

“If arguments go unresolved, if a spouse is being criticized, demeaned, isolated or mistreated in other ways, then the outcome for people who are married is usually much worse than for those who are single.” She adds that there are studies showing that heart disease is much worse for women in those situations, as well as research suggesting that hostile interactions interfere with wound healing.

If you are struggling in your relationship, you and your partner can work with a couples therapist to reduce stress, learn how to communicate better, solve problems in healthy ways and address any other issues that may be troubling you. “Improving your relationship quality can help boost your happiness and have widespread benefits, whether you’re married or not,” says Dr. Karakurt.

“We now have more cohabitating couples and less rigid gender roles, so there are greater expectations for relationships,” she says. “Future research may continue to highlight the importance of relationship quality, alongside the structural and legal protections that marriage can provide.”