No one more attractive than you for your mate

A new study has given credibility to the famous saying 'beauty lies in the eye of the beholder' by finding that our partners think we are far better looking than we actually are.

Scientists at Groningen University in the Netherlands have shown that most of us think our long-term partners are the most gorgeous thing we have ever set eyes on. The researchers asked 93 couples to rate their own and their partners' attractiveness. The couples were typically in their late 30s and had been together for an average of 14 years.

It was found that volunteers of both sexes gave their partners far higher scores than they gave themselves. The researchers said we tend to undervalue our own charms, while overrating the value our partners place on stereotypically attractive physical features.

"This assumption is consistent with a broader line of research that shows that individuals tend to overestimate the extent to which members of the opposite sex value certain physical attributes," the Telegraph quoted them, as stating.

"Whereas women typically believe that men prefer a female shape thinner and larger busted than men actually prefer, men falsely assume that women prefer a heavier, more muscular and larger chested male physique than women actually want.

"Realising that one's partner holds a relatively positive view about one's body may alleviate some body-image concerns as well as the negative consequences that these concerns may have on the relationship," they added. The study appears in the journal Body Image.