Sex Drive Fizzles After a Woman Lands Her Man

If you’re considering marrying a woman mainly because she’s a maniac in bed, don’t do it because it won’t last. German scientists found that sexual desire wanes quickly after marriage in women, but stays constant in men. Women continue to need closeness and tenderness, but want less and less sex as the marriage progresses. In women, sex drive starts to fizzle as soon as they land a man. Gender differences in sex drive evolved over thousands of years. Men needed a high sex drive to keep other males away from their mates. Women needed strong social bonds with their husbands to provide security for the family. After four years of marriage, more than 50 percent of women said they didn’t want sex regularly. Ninety percent of women, but only 25 percent of men, valued tenderness after more than five years of marriage. Women’s sex drive improved when they lived away from their husbands. The researchers concluded that evolution dictated that men and women have different motivations for sex. (Journal Human Nature, in press, Aug. 2006)