If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life
Never make a pretty woman your wife
So from my personal point of view
Get an ugly girl to marry you.

“If You Wanna Be Happy” by Jimmy Soul

The idea behind this well known song of the 1960s was if you don’t want a wife who is high maintenance or cheats, marry a woman who is ugly, and so grateful to have a husband – that she’ll take good care of you and never be disloyal.

To many this was a very funny song; to others it was sexist and rude because it insinuates that a pretty woman will be demanding, difficult and unfaithful to her husband. Obviously, the songwriter thinks that an ugly woman is more likely to appreciate her husband and work harder to make him happy because “no one else will.”

So the question for many is: Will you be happier if you marry someone (female or male) who is unattractive?

Of course, those who are experienced and enlightened know that beauty is only skin deep. What matters most are the special qualities that make up the inside of a person. A wholesome woman (or man) of character is prettier (or more handsome) than someone who looks appealing on the outside but is shallow and undeveloped on the inside.

For those of us who watch TV and pay attention to the social media, it’s clear that both men and women are over-focused on beauty. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be physically attracted to the other person. But, when one is obsessed with finding someone beautiful or handsome, it is easy to loose sight of the more durable and profoundly important qualities that should be valued – such as love, affection, chemistry, communication, commitment, generosity, friendliness, humor, patience, wisdom, intellect, and loyalty that remain long after beauty fades.

Nevertheless, our culture promotes myths about how physical attraction (or lack of it) can lead to finding a happy relationship. When asked, “Are you better off marrying an ugly woman,” people have strong reactions to the question:

“Men who only want pretty girls for their looks will get what they deserve because often those women are so shallow.”

“The more attractive she is, the higher the maintenance a woman becomes. When was the last time you saw a supermodel cook, clean and service her man like a king?”

“If what a man values most is a woman’s looks, he’s probably pretty insecure with lots of self-esteem problems.”

Many men do seek out trophy wives versus ugly or plain wives because, sadly, it increases their own, low self-esteem. Some (insecure) males like the idea of having a wife who is more of a “plain-Jane” because they think that will lessen the likelihood that she’ll cheat on them (i.e. “ugly women have fewer opportunities to cheat”). Others are heard to say, “If your wife is hot and she’s out somewhere socializing, you’ll always worry and be suspicious of what might happen.”

Read More: huffingtonpost