It’s a bit awkward to think about, but experts have long claimed that we tend to be attracted to people who resemble our parents.
But what is the reason behind the phenomenon?
According to Northumbria University’s senior lecturer in psychology Tamsin Saxton, humans are similar to animals in that we often learn what an “appropriate” mate looks like from our own family unit – a practice known as positive sexual imprinting.
Quoting Saxton, The Independent explains that while humans are rarely sexually attracted to close family members, they do learn what makes a good or bad partner from their parents.
"When you ask people to judge the similarities between heterosexual couples and their parents from photos, a fascinating picture emerges. Women tend on average to pick partners whose faces look a bit like their fathers', while men often choose partners who slightly resemble their mothers. Resemblance doesn’t stop at faces – you can also see subtle similarities on average between partner and parent height, hair colour, eye colour, ethnicity and even the degree of body hair," Saxton said.
