Sex and romance are close evolutionary bedfellows

Ed Morrison; Mohamed Ismail Abdul Kader

doi:10.1017/S0140525X25102689

Sex and romance are close evolutionary bedfellows

School of Psychology, Sport and Health Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review

Abstract

Evolutionary theory supports the claim that romantic relationships matter more to men than to women. Humans follow the general pattern of ardent males and coy females, but our mostly monogamous mating system means that sexual relationships generally are romantic. The decoupling of sex and romance may be a modern development that does not represent most of human evolutionary history.

Original language	English
Article number	e115
Number of pages	1
Journal	Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Volume	49
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X25102689 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X25102689
Publication status	Published - 1 Jun 2026

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abstract = "Evolutionary theory supports the claim that romantic relationships matter more to men than to women. Humans follow the general pattern of ardent males and coy females, but our mostly monogamous mating system means that sexual relationships generally are romantic. The decoupling of sex and romance may be a modern development that does not represent most of human evolutionary history.",

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N2 - Evolutionary theory supports the claim that romantic relationships matter more to men than to women. Humans follow the general pattern of ardent males and coy females, but our mostly monogamous mating system means that sexual relationships generally are romantic. The decoupling of sex and romance may be a modern development that does not represent most of human evolutionary history.

AB - Evolutionary theory supports the claim that romantic relationships matter more to men than to women. Humans follow the general pattern of ardent males and coy females, but our mostly monogamous mating system means that sexual relationships generally are romantic. The decoupling of sex and romance may be a modern development that does not represent most of human evolutionary history.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105040787249

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DO - 10.1017/S0140525X25102689

M3 - Comment/debate

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JO - Behavioral and Brain Sciences

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Sex and romance are close evolutionary bedfellows

Abstract

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