Want A Stronger Relationship With Your Spouse? Expert Says, 'Watch Each Other's Face'

The ability to understand facial expressions is an integral part of nonverbal communication. We can usually tell when someone is angry or annoyed based on their expressions, but do you know what it means when a person touches his or her face a lot? A person’s face holds a wealth of information and if we can focus on what they’re saying, an expert says we can build stronger relationships and marriages with our partners.

5 things your partner’s face is telling you

Eric Standop, owner of the Face Reading Academy in the U.S. and author of Read the Face: Face Reading for Success in Your Career, Relationships, and Health recently spoke with parenting website Fatherly and gave a few tips on how couples can use face reading to have better relationships. Here’s what we learned.

After an argument, look for this cue which can mean your partner needs space

According to Standop, people grab their noses with their fingers as a sign that they want space. “It means they want to take a deep breath and need more space,” he explains.

A person’s lips can speak volumes

When a man or woman grabs on their lower lip, it means they are trying to solve a problem or want to get rid of something, shares Standop. Meanwhile, pursed lips might signify disapproval or frustration, according to ChangingMinds.org. They probably want to say something to you but are holding back because they don’t want to be critical.

A man looking adoringly at his wife means they have a strong connection

Standop, whose clients include married couples, shares that one sign couples are in a happy relationship is when they copy each other’s behavior. “When they behave in the same way, or she always touches his upper arm, or when she tries to copy the facial expressions of him — that’s what I look for in women,” he explains. “Men usually look a their wives and have this adorable expression. That signifies a strong connection."

Looking at your partner and then quickly looking away is a bad sign

When a person has lost respect for their partner, Standop shares that it’s the eyes that give it away. “When someone rolls their eyes or doesn’t focus on their partner anymore, and their eyes more or less stay for a second on the partner’s face and then they already turn their eyes away? That is very often a sign of lost respect,” he says.

Looking into your partner’s eyes can help you communicate with each other better

When partners want to reconnect with each other, they’ll probably schedule a date night so they can focus on each other. While this is good, Standop suggests that couples should do basic work first.

“Sit together three times a week, look into each other’s eyes for five minutes, and say nothing,” he says. Make sure there’s no noise or music in the background.

Looking into each other’s eyes helps you connect on a deeper level because you release endorphins, which re-establish the relationship again, according to Standop. He adds, “It’s also more or less, a lie detector. If one partner cannot do that anymore, something happened. Because people in love can do that. They even have a hard time stopping doing that.”

Are you in a "perfectly happy" relationship? Click here to know the characteristics of one!