Many couples are finding that olfactory compatibility plays a bigger role in attraction and long-term bonding than they realized, with researchers pointing to evolutionary, emotional and even genetic reasons why a partner's scent can make or break a bond.
Why Is Smell So Important In A Romantic Relationship?
Smell is important because it can signal physical health, emotional safety and biological compatibility between partners, according to researchers writing in Psychology Today and Healthline.
In an article in Psychology Today, Ainsley HawthornPh.D., explained that people may be wired to read odor as an indicator of a potential mate's well-being. “From an evolutionary perspective, we may be primed to respond to smell because of its role as an indicator of bodily health,” he wrote. Hawthorn noted that poor nutrition and disease can produce bad odors, so getting rid of a partner's body odor may help steer people away from unhealthy play. “Ultimately, not liking the smell of a partner may indicate a loss of cooperation and spell trouble in the relationship,” he added.
Can Your Partner's Smell Change How You Feel About Him Over Time?
Yes. Researchers say a partner's scent can change from a source of comfort to a source of stress as the relationship itself changes.
In a separate section of Psychology Today, Julieta Zemla pointed to a study showing that smelling the clothes worn by a romantic partner can reduce stress responses (Hofer et al., 2018). Over time, a partner's scent can be coded as a safety signal. But this coding can change,” writes Zemla. If a partner is critical, distant, or unfaithful, their scent may begin to ease tension instead of comfort. In other words, the same scent that once felt soothing may begin to feel less trusting or intimate.
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Is Scent Attraction Genetically Influenced?
Yes. Genetics help shape how a person smells and how attractive that smell is to a potential partner, in addition to personal hygiene.
To write to Healthline, Dorian Smith-Garcia explained that “current research has shown that people are influenced by their partner's scent when deciding on attraction and compatibility.” Smith-Garcia noted that people with the ABCC11 gene, which controls underarm odor and ear wax, “produce chemicals that odor-producing bacteria can feed on.” The catch, he wrote, is that “learning that body odor, or the lack of it, is genetically influenced and can tip the scales during mate selection is an interesting thought.”
Personal hygiene still plays a big role, but biology may quietly influence who finds it irresistible and who doesn't.
