--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The formula for a happy marriage is five…" description: "\"The formula for a happy marriage is five positive remarks, or interactions, for every one negative.\" — Nancy Etcoff" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/nancy-etcoff-34794_five_the-formula-for-a-happy-marriage-is-five_354496.png" --- # The formula for a happy marriage is five positive remarks… ![“The formula for a happy marriage is five positive remarks, or interactions, for every one negative.” quote by Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/nancy-etcoff-34794_five_the-formula-for-a-happy-marriage-is-five_354496.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/nancy-etcoff-34794_five_the-formula-for-a-happy-marriage-is-five_354496.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/nancy-etcoff-34794_five_the-formula-for-a-happy-marriage-is-five_354496.png) > “The formula for a happy marriage is five positive remarks, or interactions, for every one negative.” [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Positive interactions outweigh negatives, sustaining relationship satisfaction and resilience. **In simple terms:** More good than bad keeps marriage happy. Key Takeaway Focus on frequent positive exchanges. Themes relationships communication positivity Mood optimistic encouraging Type advice relationship When to use this quote - marriage counseling - daily gratitude - conflict resolution - team building Key Concepts psychology social support Questions to Reflect On - How can you increase positive remarks daily? - What small gestures boost partnership? A Different Perspective Negatives can still cause lasting damage if not addressed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) [Formula Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/formula-happy-2463684/) [Formulas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/formulas/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happy marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-marriage/) [Healthcare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healthcare/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Interaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interaction/) [Interactions Negative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interactions-negative-3267218/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Marriage Positive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage-positive-3267216/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Negative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negative/) [Positive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive/) [Positive Remarks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-remarks-3267217/) [Remarks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remarks/) ## Related quotes > [The formula for a happy marriage? It's the same as the one for living in California: when you find a fault, don't dwell on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-trachman/the-formula-for-a-happy-marriage-it-s-the-same-as-the-one-for-living/) [Jay Trachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-trachman/) > [“i think the only one formula for being happy is being thankful”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suci-marina/i-think-the-only-one-formula-for-being-happy-is-being-thankful/) [Suci Marina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suci-marina/) > [Stuck in an unhappy marriage on the path to divorce, my father concluded that abortion should be the solution to the unplanned, unwanted pregnancy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-cooper/stuck-in-an-unhappy-marriage-on-the-path-to-divorce-my-father/) [Brett Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-cooper/) > [A man imagines a happy marriage as a marriage of love; even if he makes fun of marriages that are without love, or feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/a-man-imagines-a-happy-marriage-as-a-marriage-of-love-even-if-he/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [“Fourth time's the charm," she says to people who ask her what the secret of a happy marriage is, but that's not the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/fourth-time-s-the-charm-she-says-to-people-who-ask-her-what-the/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [Those who have made unhappy marriages walk on stilts, while the happy ones are on a level with the crowd. No one sees 'em!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-mary-teresa-craigie/those-who-have-made-unhappy-marriages-walk-on-stilts-while-the-happy/) [Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-mary-teresa-craigie/) > [“It is lack of communication that leads to unhappy marriage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/it-is-lack-of-communication-that-leads-to-unhappy-marriage/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [When I got married in my twenties, I had a happy marriage and happy kids but at some point in time I let it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-rose/when-i-got-married-in-my-twenties-i-had-a-happy-marriage-and-happy/) [Stuart Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-rose/) > [What is right for one couple is wrong for another. I would say that there are many more important factors to a happy marriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-aston/what-is-right-for-one-couple-is-wrong-for-another-i-would-say-that/) [Elizabeth Aston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-aston/) > [If you will make your first concern the comfort, the well-being, and the happiness of your companion, sublimating any personal concern to that loftier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/if-you-will-make-your-first-concern-the-comfort-the-well-being-and/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [Why? Why does what was beautiful suddenly shatter in hindsight because it concealed dark truths? Why does the memory of years of happy marriage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernhard-schlink/why-why-does-what-was-beautiful-suddenly-shatter-in-hindsight-because/) [Bernhard Schlink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernhard-schlink/) > [Sensual pleasures have the fleeting brilliance of a comet; a happy marriage has the tranquillity of a lovely sunset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/sensual-pleasures-have-the-fleeting-brilliance-of-a-comet-a-happy/) [Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/) > [A happy marriage has in it all the pleasures of a friendship, all the enjoyments of sense and reason, and indeed, all the sweets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-happy-marriage-has-in-it-all-the-pleasures-of-a-friendship-all-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and halfway closed there after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/keep-your-eyes-wide-open-before-marriage-and-halfway-closed-there/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [Divorce isn't such a tragedy. A tragedy's staying in an unhappy marriage, teaching your children the wrong things about love. Nobody ever died of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/divorce-isn-t-such-a-tragedy-a-tragedy-s-staying-in-an-unhappy/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) ## More by Nancy Etcoff > [throughout human history people have scarred, painted, pierced, padded, stiffened, plucked, and buffed their bodies in the name of beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/throughout-human-history-people-have-scarred-painted-pierced-padded/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [In Brazil there are more Avon ladies than members of the army. In the United States more money is spent on beauty than on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/in-brazil-there-are-more-avon-ladies-than-members-of-the-army-in-the/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [The idea that beauty is unimportant or a cultural construct is the real beauty myth. We have to understand beauty, or we will always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/the-idea-that-beauty-is-unimportant-or-a-cultural-construct-is-the/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [The idea that beauty is unimportant is the real beauty myth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/the-idea-that-beauty-is-unimportant-is-the-real-beauty-myth/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [Physical beauty is like athletic skill: it peaks young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/physical-beauty-is-like-athletic-skill-it-peaks-young/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [When abused children under court protection were studied in California and Massachusetts, it turned out that a disproportionate number of them were unattractive...abused kids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/when-abused-children-under-court-protection-were-studied-in/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [Beauty draws us in. We can't stop looking or listening or touching. It takes us outside ourselves and it motivates us. It's essential to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/beauty-draws-us-in-we-can-t-stop-looking-or-listening-or-touching-it/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [“After staring at photographs of very attractive faces, men show less desire to date an average-looking woman. Exposure to extremely beautiful bodies in visual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/after-staring-at-photographs-of-very-attractive-faces-men-show-less/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [“Humans, like flowers and animals, inhabit a form that is both functional and aesthetic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/humans-like-flowers-and-animals-inhabit-a-form-that-is-both/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [Beauty ensnares hearts, captures minds, and stirs up emotional wildfires. From Plato to pinups, images of human beauty have catered to a limitless desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/beauty-ensnares-hearts-captures-minds-and-stirs-up-emotional/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [Beauty is equal parts flesh and imagination: we imbue it with our dreams, saturate it with our longings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/beauty-is-equal-parts-flesh-and-imagination-we-imbue-it-with-our/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [“Beauty ensnares hearts, captures minds, and stirs up emotional wildfires.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/beauty-ensnares-hearts-captures-minds-and-stirs-up-emotional-wildfires/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [Appearance is the most public part of the self. It is our sacrament, the visible self that the world assumes to be a mirror…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/appearance-is-the-most-public-part-of-the-self-it-is-our-sacrament/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) [Explore all 14 Nancy Etcoff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) ## More Five quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/five-days-or-five-months-but-it-certainly-isn-t-going-to-last-longer/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [If you look at the charts every year, there may be five or ten memorable songs from each year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-jackson/if-you-look-at-the-charts-every-year-there-may-be-five-or-ten/) [Randy Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-jackson/) > [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. I'm never playing something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiesto/i-want-to-make-myself-and-the-crowd-happy-by-way-of-something/) [Tiesto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiesto/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [I remember my friend Johnny von Neumann used to say, 'with four parameters I can fit an elephant and with five I can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrico-fermi/i-remember-my-friend-johnny-von-neumann-used-to-say-with-four/) [Enrico Fermi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrico-fermi/) > [That is the real problem of depression - a condition which will affect an estimated one in five of the population at some point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-andreae/that-is-the-real-problem-of-depression-a-condition-which-will-affect/) [Giles Andreae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-andreae/) > [I don't think you should ever say, 'This is the last time'. Music isn't like that. You'll be sitting there not wishing to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-daltrey/i-don-t-think-you-should-ever-say-this-is-the-last-time-music-isn-t/) [Roger Daltrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-daltrey/) > [I don't think we need a featuring though , because five of us are enough .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-hyun-joong/i-don-t-think-we-need-a-featuring-though-because-five-of-us-are-enough/) [Kim Hyun-joong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-hyun-joong/) > [People who are complaining about the Fed are people who've been predicting runaway inflation for five and six years, and it hasn't happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/people-who-are-complaining-about-the-fed-are-people-who-ve-been/) [Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/) > [I am naturally a thin person and I am 5'1" and putting on five or 10 pounds, that looks like a lot on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-richie/i-am-naturally-a-thin-person-and-i-am-5-1-and-putting-on-five-or-10/) [Nicole Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-richie/) > [The official independence celebration was going to be held over four or five days, and a group of journalists from all over the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/the-official-independence-celebration-was-going-to-be-held-over-four/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [Man, you'd be surprised how much I'm learning - not only about myself, but about the musicians who came before me. You don't realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-hubbard/man-you-d-be-surprised-how-much-i-m-learning-not-only-about-myself/) [Freddie Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-hubbard/) > [A lot of times, when people send me books to read - new writers mostly - I find that the book is still in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/a-lot-of-times-when-people-send-me-books-to-read-new-writers-mostly-i/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) [Browse all 6,265 Five quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The formula for a happy marriage is five positive remarks, or interactions, for every one negative.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nancy Etcoff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/the-formula-for-a-happy-marriage-is-five-positive-remarks-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Five" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/the-formula-for-a-happy-marriage-is-five-positive-remarks-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/nancy-etcoff-34794_five_the-formula-for-a-happy-marriage-is-five_354496.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/nancy-etcoff-34794_five_the-formula-for-a-happy-marriage-is-five_354496.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/nancy-etcoff-34794_five_the-formula-for-a-happy-marriage-is-five_354496.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The formula for a happy marriage is five positive remarks, or interactions, for every one negative.” — Nancy Etcoff", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nancy Etcoff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The formula for a happy marriage...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/the-formula-for-a-happy-marriage-is-five-positive-remarks-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/the-formula-for-a-happy-marriage-is-five-positive-remarks-or/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```