Heard the old adage that opposites attract but don’t stay together? Well, while it’s true that most of us choose friends and colleagues that share our basic personality traits, finding it easy to understand and interact with them, you’d think it would be natural that we’d also choose romantic mates who are just like our fabulous selves.

Often though, when it comes to a life-long coupling, many happily marrieds will tell you their surprising formula for success was to choose someone more their opposite or complement. A life-long, loving partnership is a team sport, and it’s important for the “teammates” to have skills and talents that are complimentary to the strengths and limitations of the other, in order to make it to the “championships of love” and get that “happily ever after” trophy we all long for.

While research shows that people in successful unions have similar values and priorities, combining the different talents and life strategies of the two individuals builds each person’s character and creates a more powerful, dynamic duo. For instance, the extrovert who is on the run all the time may be mellowed by joining forces with a laid-back introvert, while the introvert, in turn, can learn to be more social and proactive by uniting with their adventurous, high-energy other half. The philosophical dreamer may become more realistic about the practicalities of modern life by connecting with a detail-oriented, linear thinker. This grounded analyst may, in turn, learn from their starry-eyed beloved to value their dreams and reach for their own stars.

By combining opposing skills and resources, these polarized pairs create a synergy that is much greater than the sum of their own parts!

So quit passing up your Prince or Princess Charming-in-disguise or wanting to shake your mate that seems as though from another world – they may just be the doubles partner who will get you the gold!