Love really is blind when it comes to physical flaws, it would seem.

Research suggests that we view our loved ones through rose-tinted glasses that overlook the crooked noses, bulging tummies or other attributes that might put others off.

As a result, husbands and wives think their other halves are more attractive than they really are.

The phenomenon could help explain some apparently physically mis-matched couples such as the glamorous Beyonce and Jay-Z, the striking Lara Stone and David Walliams, or the statuesque Sophie Dahl and the diminutive Jamie Cullum.

The ‘positive illusion’ theory comes from researchers who asked 70 couples to rate their other halves for attractiveness.

Questions included how attractive their husband, wife, boyfriend or girlfriend was to the opposite sex, and how they rated compared with others of the same age. The answers were kept confidential to prevent any partners taking umbrage.

Some of those taking part also rated photos of their partners. In addition, members of the public judged the looks of all 140 men and women taking part.

The results revealed that couples view their other halves as being better looking than they really are.

Even asking them to rate pictures of their partners did not give them a reality check, the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships reports.

With previous studies finding that we view our loved ones as being kinder and brainier than they actually are, it does seem that love is blind in all sorts of ways.

Those studied were relatively young and had been together on average for just two and a half years.

The researchers said that more work is needed to see if those in long marriages are still blind to their partner’s physical flaws.

(Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)