Are most spouses genetically similar to one another?

Angela

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The answer may be yes, something close to second cousin level. Now, they're not saying in terms of ancestry informative things necessarily, but in terms of overall genetic similarity.

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My gut is that this is correct. We've seen lots of papers that found there was a lot of attraction to members of one's family, with the exception of very close relatives with whom one has been raised. The latter probably is perhaps correlated with smell, and might be adaptive, as it prevents inbreeding.

So, nature prefers similar, but not too similar?

Anecdotally, 23andme used to have a feature which told you overall similarity with people with whom you shared (not segments in common), and my most similar was my husband. Not in admixture at all, and we look nothing alike, but it was the case for overall genetic similarity. Weird but true.
 
I think this study is based on averages. I'm what a person would call an introverted nerd. I don't like nerdy women at all. I prefer out going women with a wicked sense of humour who are sexy and look nothing like me.
 

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