At least that’s what recent research seems to indicate.

Relationships that last are normally said to be full of love. But love is a tricky thing, and it means different things to different people. Some fall like the apple does from the tree – very quickly. Others take their time and develop loving feelings over the course of time.

And relationships can last long or end quickly irrespective of how fast a person fell. The only thing we know for sure about love is that it’s one of the strongest emotions we can feel. So how do you know what will last and what won’t?

It seems like a new study from the Yale School of Public Health has the answer. The research examined 178 married couples and looked at the impact oxytocin had on social bonding. The participants all fell between a fairly large age range i.e. 37-90 years. The science shows that couples had happier and better lasting marriages if at least one of the two people in the relationship had a specific genetic variation called the GG genotype.

People with it are super positive and secure partners – people who build relationships on solid grounds and then keep them going.

The study is ground-breaking because it is the first to break down genes to see how they impact relationships. The team consists of Trace Kershaw, Andrew T. DeWan, Joan Monin and Selin Gotkas.

“This study shows that how we feel in our close relationships is influenced by more than just our shared experiences with our partners over time,” said the study’s Lead Author Joan Monin. “In marriage, people are also influenced by their own and their partner’s genetic predispositions.”

The findings also show that people with the GG genotype are less anxious in their relationships with their partners. Such people will not really have overwhelming feelings of insecurity, fear of rejection, and other such traits.

This is interesting because even if you put the research aside, we all know that relationships will last longer if partners do not give in to their insecurities and focus on the positive.

So, if you have been wondering why your love life plays out like a Shakespearean tragedy, perhaps the answer is in your DNA.