Labor of Love: The Link Between Emotion Work (Dis)similarity, Relationship, and Sexual Well-Being in Couples

dissimilar emotion work and whether specific patterns of couples' similarity may uniquely contribute to their relationship and sexual well-being. We found no evidence of congruence effects; however, the response surface findings suggested that when both partners reported higher levels of emotion work, couples reported greater relationship satisfaction and sexual well-being (i.e. higher sexual desire and lower sexual distress), but also greater relationship conflict. These results underscore the importance of both partners' active engagement in emotion work toward each other and suggest that effectively managing differences may be more beneficial than striving for a perfect match.