How The Idea Of 'Soul Mates' Hurts Relationships

Two Words That Could Doom Your Relationship

Decades of rom-com love stories would have you believe that the most romantic way to begin a relationship is to adorably bump into a complete stranger with whom you feel an instant connection that lasts forever, and you become lovers, spouses and "soul mates." But as writer Melissa Dahl recently explored in a piece in New York magazine, the idea of a single person destined to be "the one" actually puts relationships under more pressure than necessary.

HuffPost Live's Ricky Camilleri spoke with Dahl and a panel of researchers who have explored the concept of soul mates and the rigidity it introduces into relationships. It turns out that believing one person is a perfect other half makes it harder to accept conflicts along the way.

Check out the video above for insights into the problem with soul mates, and click here to see the full HuffPost Live conversation.

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