Formula predicts whether lawyers or love will rule your marriage

London: Couples wondering if true love will last could find out if they are a match made in heaven by subjecting themselves to a mathematical test.

A professor at Oxford University and his team have perfected a model whereby they can calculate whether the relationship will succeed. In a study of 700 couples, Prof James Murray predicted the divorce rate with 94 per cent accuracy.

His calculations were based on a simple 15-minute conversation between a couple. Prof Murray and his colleagues recorded the conversation and awarded the husband and wife positive or negative points depending on what was said. The partner who showed affection, humour or happiness as they talked was given the maximum points, while those who displayed contempt or belligerence received the minimum. Prof Murray, said the scores of the wife and the husband were fed into the mathematical model and plotted on a graph. The point at which the two lines met illustrated the marriage's chances of success or failure.

"The most stable relationships are those which take an old-fashioned view and see marriage as mainly about companionship," he added.