{"id":118127,"date":"2026-10-06T07:05:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T11:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/?p=118127"},"modified":"2026-10-06T07:05:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T11:05:20","slug":"shared-awe-couples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/relationships-and-family\/shared-awe-couples\/","title":{"rendered":"Shared Awe: Couples Who Feel Wonder Together Are Happier"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='booster-block booster-read-block'>\n                <div class=\"twp-read-time\">\n                \t<i class=\"booster-icon twp-clock\"><\/i> <span>Read Time:<\/span>9 Minute, 4 Second                <\/div>\n\n            <\/div><p>Think about the last time something stopped you in your tracks. A huge storm rolling in over the hills. A sky so full of stars it felt close. A piece of music that made the hair on your arms stand up.<\/p>\n\n<p>Now here is the question a team of researchers wanted answered: <em>who was standing next to you?<\/em><\/p>\n\n<p>A new study on <strong>shared awe<\/strong> suggests that question matters more than most of us would guess. Couples who often feel wonder <em>together<\/em> tend to be happier with each other. And people who mostly feel wonder <em>on their own<\/em> showed a surprising twist that is worth slowing down for.<\/p>\n\n<h2>What the Shared Awe Study Found<\/h2>\n\n<p>The study comes from Radboud University in the Netherlands. Matteo Perini led it, with Lou Mier, Hein van Schie, Jasper de Groot and Johan Karremans. It was published in <em>The Journal of Positive Psychology<\/em> in 2026 under a lovely title: &#8220;United in wonder.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n<p>First, what is awe? The researchers describe it as the feeling you get when you meet something so big it doesn&#8217;t fit inside how you already see the world. A mountain. An ocean. A newborn&#8217;s hand around your finger. You feel small, but in a good way.<\/p>\n\n<p>The team ran two studies:<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Study 1:<\/strong> 198 adults who were in love, and strongly so.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Study 2:<\/strong> 306 adults in a romantic relationship of any kind.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>In both, people who said they often felt awe <em>with their partner<\/em> also reported more satisfaction in the relationship. They felt closer, as if the line between &#8220;me&#8221; and &#8220;you&#8221; had blurred a little. In the second study, shared awe was also linked to being more willing to make sacrifices for each other.<\/p>\n\n<p>The strongest link was with what the researchers call &#8220;relationship flourishing,&#8221; the sense that the relationship is growing and alive. In the second study, shared awe alone accounted for about half of the difference between people on that measure. That is a big number for a single feeling.<\/p>\n\n<p>And it was not just &#8220;couples who have fun are happy.&#8221; The link held even after the researchers took into account how often couples laughed together, and how often they did awe-type activities like hiking or going to concerts. Doing the activity was not the point. <em>Feeling the wonder together<\/em> was.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"convertkit-form wp-block-convertkit-form\" style=\"\"><script async data-uid=\"6491fb8269\" src=\"https:\/\/bgodinspired.kit.com\/6491fb8269\/index.js\" data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" data-no-defer=\"1\" data-no-optimize=\"1\" nowprocket><\/script><\/div>\n\n\n<h2>The Surprising Part: Awe on Your Own<\/h2>\n\n<p>Here is the detail that makes this study stand out.<\/p>\n\n<p>Some people are simply more prone to awe than others. They stop for sunsets. They tear up at music. You might expect those people to have richer relationships.<\/p>\n\n<p>But once the researchers accounted for shared awe, a person&#8217;s own, solo tendency toward awe was linked to <em>lower<\/em> satisfaction in the relationship, not higher.<\/p>\n\n<p>That sounds sad, so it is worth being careful with. Perini himself says he would treat this finding cautiously until someone repeats it. But he also says it raises an interesting possibility: awe may help a relationship most when it becomes something the two of you share, rather than something one person mostly feels somewhere else.<\/p>\n\n<p>Picture it. One partner is moved to tears at the sea every morning, alone. The other is at home. Over time, the most alive moments in one person&#8217;s life are happening in a room the other person is never in. Nobody did anything wrong. But a quiet gap can grow.<\/p>\n\n<h2>What This Study Can and Can&#8217;t Tell Us<\/h2>\n\n<p>This research is honest about its limits, and we should be too.<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>It shows a link, not a cause.<\/strong> The researchers asked people questions at one point in time. They cannot say that shared awe <em>makes<\/em> couples happier.<\/li>\n<li><strong>It might run the other way.<\/strong> The authors point out that people who already have a deep, happy relationship may simply be more likely to experience life together as full of wonder.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Only one partner answered.<\/strong> Each couple was seen through one person&#8217;s eyes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>So this is not a recipe. It is more like a window. And what you can see through it is still worth looking at.<\/p>\n\n<h2>You Don&#8217;t Need a Mountain<\/h2>\n\n<p>When people hear &#8220;awe,&#8221; they picture something expensive: the Northern Lights, a safari, a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Perini says plainly that he wouldn&#8217;t turn this study into &#8220;couples should constantly chase spectacular experiences.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n<p>Instead, he suggests making room for wonder together through nature, art, music, learning something new, spiritual experiences, or &#8220;simply encountering something familiar in a different way.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n<p>That last phrase is the quiet gift in this study. Wonder doesn&#8217;t need a plane ticket. It can be a thunderstorm watched from the doorway. A tiny spider building a web on the window. A night with the lights off, looking up. (If you have ever wondered why astronauts come home changed after seeing Earth from space, our piece on <a href=\"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/bible-resources\/bible-and-science\/what-is-the-overview-effect\/\">the overview effect<\/a> is about the same feeling at a much larger scale.)<\/p>\n\n<p>And the team is already working on something even closer to home. Their next paper looks at what they call <strong>partner-induced awe<\/strong>: feeling awe <em>at your own partner<\/em>. Perini says their findings suggest this may matter even in long relationships, where familiarity can so easily turn into taking someone for granted. In other words, the person you see every day might be one of the &#8220;vast&#8221; things that doesn&#8217;t fit inside how you already see the world, if you look again.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Wonder Was Never Meant to Be Kept to Ourselves<\/h2>\n\n<p>There is something very old in all of this.<\/p>\n\n<p>Long before anyone measured &#8220;relationship flourishing,&#8221; people knew what to do when they saw something too big to hold. They didn&#8217;t just stare at it alone. They turned to the person beside them and said, <em>come and see this.<\/em> Some of the oldest songs humans ever sang about the wonder of God are not written as <em>look at this<\/em>. They are written as <em>look at this with me<\/em>. Awe, it seems, has always wanted company.<\/p>\n\n<p>Maybe that is why the moment you see something beautiful, your first instinct is to grab someone&#8217;s arm. Wonder is something we were made to share.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Small Ways to Share Wonder This Week<\/h2>\n\n<p>None of these cost money. None of them need a big trip.<\/p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Go outside together at night.<\/strong> Ten minutes. Look up. Say nothing at first.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Share one &#8220;huh, I never knew that.&#8221;<\/strong> Read one surprising fact about the world to each other: how far light travels, how old a tree might be.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Watch the weather.<\/strong> Next time a storm or a big sunset comes, call the other person over instead of taking a photo for later.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Look at your partner like it&#8217;s the first time.<\/strong> Watch them do the thing they are good at. Notice it out loud.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Put one &#8220;someday&#8221; wonder on the calendar.<\/strong> If there is a place you keep saying you will visit &#8220;one day,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/real-life\/stop-living-for-someday\/\">here is how to stop living for someday<\/a> and give it a real date.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<p>Curious how you and your partner give and receive love in the first place? Our free <a href=\"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/what-is-my-love-language\/\">What Is My Love Language? quiz<\/a> takes a few minutes and is fun to take together.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>A good place to start:<\/strong><br>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/free-video-course-feeling-gods-presence\/?utm_source=wordpress&amp;utm_medium=article-inline&amp;utm_content=hero\">The Beginner&#8217;s Guide to Feeling God&#8217;s Presence Every Day<\/a><br>\nA short video guide for noticing the wonder already hiding in ordinary days, and sharing it with the people you love.<br>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/free-video-course-feeling-gods-presence\/?utm_source=wordpress&amp;utm_medium=article-inline&amp;utm_content=hero\">Get the free guide<\/a><br>\nFree.<\/p>\n\n<h2>The Moment Worth Turning Toward<\/h2>\n\n<p>The next time something takes your breath away, notice what you do in the second after. Do you reach for your phone? Or do you reach for a person?<\/p>\n\n<p>This study can&#8217;t promise that sharing a sunset will save a marriage. But it hints at something most of us already feel: the best moments of life are bigger when someone else is standing in them too. Wonder is out there every day. You don&#8217;t have to see it alone.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Discussion Question<\/h2>\n\n<p>Do you think couples today get less shared wonder than couples did a generation ago, or more? Tell us what you think in the comments below.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"convertkit-form wp-block-convertkit-form\" style=\"\"><script async data-uid=\"6491fb8269\" src=\"https:\/\/bgodinspired.kit.com\/6491fb8269\/index.js\" data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" data-no-defer=\"1\" data-no-optimize=\"1\" nowprocket><\/script><\/div>\n\n\n<h2>Share This<\/h2>\n\n<ul>\n<li>A new study found couples who feel awe together are happier. Not couples who do more stuff. Couples who feel the wonder side by side.<\/li>\n<li>Researchers say you don&#8217;t need a big trip to share awe. A storm from the doorway counts. So does looking at your partner like it&#8217;s the first time.<\/li>\n<li>The twist in this study got me: people who mostly feel wonder on their own were less satisfied in love. Next sunset, I&#8217;m calling someone over.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2>Questions People Ask About Shared Awe<\/h2>\n\n<h3>What is shared awe in a relationship?<\/h3>\n<p>Shared awe in a relationship is the experience of two partners feeling wonder together at something vast or amazing, such as a night sky, a storm, music or nature. A 2026 study from Radboud University, published in The Journal of Positive Psychology, found that people who often feel awe with their partner report higher relationship satisfaction, more closeness and a stronger sense that the relationship is flourishing.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Do couples who experience awe together have better relationships?<\/h3>\n<p>Research suggests couples who experience awe together tend to report happier relationships. In a 2026 study of 504 adults across two samples, led by Matteo Perini at Radboud University, shared awe was linked to greater satisfaction, passionate love and closeness. The study was correlational, so it shows a link rather than proof that shared awe causes a better relationship.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Can feeling awe alone hurt a relationship?<\/h3>\n<p>A 2026 study on shared awe in couples found that once shared awe was accounted for, a person&#8217;s individual tendency to feel awe was linked to lower relationship satisfaction. The lead researcher, Matteo Perini, said the finding should be treated cautiously until it is replicated, and suggested awe may benefit a relationship most when partners share it rather than one person experiencing it mostly outside the relationship.<\/p>\n\n<h3>How can couples experience more awe together without spending money?<\/h3>\n<p>Couples can share awe without spending money by watching a storm or sunset together, stargazing for a few minutes at night, sharing surprising facts about nature, listening to music side by side, or noticing something familiar in a new way. Researchers behind a 2026 shared awe study said wonder does not require spectacular trips, and that even everyday moments can count.<\/p>\n\n<h3>What is partner-induced awe?<\/h3>\n<p>Partner-induced awe is the experience of feeling awe toward your own romantic partner. Researchers at Radboud University are studying it as a follow-up to their 2026 shared awe research, and say early findings suggest it may matter even in long-term relationships, where familiarity can easily turn into taking a partner for granted.<\/p>\n\n<p><em>Source: Perini, M., Mier, L., van Schie, H., de Groot, J., &amp; Karremans, J. (2026). United in wonder: Shared awe is associated with satisfaction and depth in romantic relationships. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 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The surprising twist about awe alone, and free ways to share it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":118126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"0","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[5226,3718],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bgodinspired-science-news","category-relationships-and-family"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118127"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118128,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118127\/revisions\/118128"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}