Most Couples Lie to Each Other Regularly

Are you and your spouse always truthful to each other?  Do you tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

It turns out, the average person tells white lies to his or her spouse three times a week! If both people in the relationships are telling those white lies, that's a relationship that has to navigate around six lies a week.

Researchers say the white lies are harmless, because there are no bad motives behind them.  I'll tell you how those researchers define "white lies" now so you know what you can get away with.

The study looked at how often people expressed affection toward their partners even when they were not genuinely feeling it.  Researchers call this "deceptive affection."  And that's where the white lies come in, from complimenting a guy's haircut when it actually looks terrible, to giving your sweetie a kiss goodbye, even when you're still steaming over the fight you just had.  White lies happen when actions don't match true feelings.

Now we can see how easy it is to commit the white lies.  And what a gift they are!  They help us avoid unwanted tension, and they may be the very fabric that holds some relationships together.

If a girl asks whether her butt looks big in her favorite jeans and you guys feel the urge to say, "why yes, your butt looks big," you can counter that thought with something else and save the relationship.  "No honey, you look great."  Sometimes deceptive affection comes in very handy.