--- title: Women In Relationships Only Notice Negative Traits of Other Men description: A study shows that coupled-off females focus more on a man's negative traits—as long as they're not dating him. canonical: https://time.com/98040/women-relationships-negative-qualities-men/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-14T11:00:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:45:28.511Z og:title: Why Women in Relationships Turn a Blind Eye to Attractive Men og:description: A study shows that coupled-off females focus more on a man's negative traits—as long as they're not dating him. og:url: https://time.com/98040/women-relationships-negative-qualities-men/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c08912183b3cad6/69868f3b06f2c152fd32edc0/182939293.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5200 og:image:height: 2925 og:image:alt: 182939293 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Women in Relationships Turn a Blind Eye to Attractive Men twitter:description: A study shows that coupled-off females focus more on a man's negative traits—as long as they're not dating him. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c08912183b3cad6/69868f3b06f2c152fd32edc0/182939293.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Women in Relationships Turn a Blind Eye to Attractive Men > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Worth Your Time: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Worth Your Time is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more. Worth Your Time is a curated guide to the culture worth knowing, from the biggest conversations of the moment to the books, shows, ideas and discoveries worth your attention. Culture editor Eliza Berman taps TIME's collective taste and perspective to surface what is worth watching, reading, talking about and sharing, and why. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=1e340cd3-41f0-4edd-b427-b5ed977ee333&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 40,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 31.7% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Eliza Berman, Culture Editor | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Culturally curious consumers. An audience tuned into the ideas, entertainment and cultural conversations worth knowing, with added influence among professionals across media, entertainment, creative, brand, communications and consulting. ### TIME Worth Your Time: key statements * Worth Your Time is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Worth Your Time is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=1e340cd3-41f0-4edd-b427-b5ed977ee333&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/subscribe?i=1e340cd3-41f0-4edd-b427-b5ed977ee333&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What should I watch or read, according to TIME? Worth Your Time is TIME's culture recommendation newsletter, edited by culture editor Eliza Berman. Twice a week it surfaces the books, shows, films and ideas TIME's editors think are worth your attention, and explains why. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Does TIME have a culture newsletter? Yes. Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays to 40,000 subscribers as of August 2026. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: First Grade Valentines [Watch (HLS stream): First Grade Valentines](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dxn3NutC.m3u8) (2:35)  _Published 2010-02-10. Out of the mouths of babes, love is explained. Brooklyn first graders write and read their valentines and describe the meaning of Valentines Day_ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan May 14, 2014 11:00 AM UTC  Hispanic couple relaxing on sofa Hispanic couple relaxing on sofaKevin Dodge—Getty Images/Blend Images RM by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan May 14, 2014 11:00 AM UTC Men have one less reason to worry about their girlfriend or wife’s wandering eye. [According to new research](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pere.12035/abstract) in the International Association for Relationship Research’s journal _Personal Relationships_, women in relationships focus on the negative qualities of attractive men they aren’t dating. In other words, a woman in a relationship is biased against a man she could potentially be interested in if she were single. This notion is already supported in research about looks — studies have shown men and women in relationships are less likely to pay attention to attractive people they aren’t dating — but now, a group of social scientists has set out to prove the same may be true for heterosexual women’s interactions with attractive men. Researchers conducted three experiments on the participants. In the first two experiments, women were asked to recall behavioral traits of good-looking, potential suitors. Undergraduate women, both in relationships and not, were presented with pictures of men deemed — scientifically, of course — attractive, along with scenarios like whether they were late to appointments (boo!) or bought groceries for grandma (aw!). After the photos were removed, the women were asked to write down which scenarios they recalled. In two out of the three experiments, researchers found that women in relationships were more likely to remember negative behavior exhibited by hotties when compared to their single counterparts. In the third study, women recalled the less-than-ideal traits of attractive men more than they recalled those of people they would not date, which in this case were other women (who were used as a control). This isn’t an all-out win for people in relationships, though. For one, the study isn’t based on actual interactions — women were merely presented with pictures and information about the potential mates, though in one study they were convinced they were chatting with the men. Another obvious limitation of the study: researchers only surveyed heterosexual women. Regardless, the study hints that a woman’s relationship status can make her immune to a man she might otherwise find good-looking. Good news for boyfriends and husbands everywhere. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/98040/women-relationships-negative-qualities-men/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/98040/women-relationships-negative-qualities-men/"},"headline":"Why Women in Relationships Turn a Blind Eye to Attractive Men","datePublished":"2014-05-14T11:00:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:45:28.511Z","description":"A study shows that coupled-off females focus more on a man's negative traits—as long as they're not dating him.","url":"https://time.com/98040/women-relationships-negative-qualities-men/","keywords":["Living","women","Dating","relationships","study","Research","couples"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c08912183b3cad6/69868f3b06f2c152fd32edc0/182939293.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c08912183b3cad6/69868f3b06f2c152fd32edc0/182939293.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"182939293","caption":"182939293","creditText":"Kevin Dodge—Getty Images/Blend Images RM","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/98040/women-relationships-negative-qualities-men/","name":"Why Women in Relationships Turn a Blind Eye to Attractive Men"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"First Grade Valentines","description":"Out of the mouths of babes, love is explained. Brooklyn first graders write and read their valentines and describe the meaning of Valentines Day","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/dxn3NutC/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2010-02-10T21:52:37.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dxn3NutC.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/98040/women-relationships-negative-qualities-men/","duration":"PT2M35S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/98040/women-relationships-negative-qualities-men/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```