On Valentines Day, consider this: a lot of things have to go right for a relationship to work. Increasingly, political compatability is one of them.
During last year's election campaign, there were stories about the divisive effect it was having on marriages. Husbands backing Donald Trump were clashing with their wives who supported Hillary Clinton.
Now that Trump is President, the divisiveness hasn't gone away; in fact, it has only intensified. And it now influences people who aren't married, but are merely dating.
The right-of-center Boston Herald this week interviewed local Trump supporters for Valentines Day dating advice. Comedian Steve Sweeney advises avoiding political talk at all costs. Fellow comedian Paul D'Angelo says Trump supporters just need to be careful who they ask out.
“If she’s wearing Birkenstocks, has a wool hat on in July or drives a Prius, it’s probably not going to work out,” he told the Herald.
It's Just Lunch poll
Back before the surprise outcome of the election, the dating site It's Just Lunch conducted a poll of its members to determine the impact politics had on romance. It was surprised to learn that one-third of respondents had experienced "a ruined date" because the subject of politics came up and one partner did not like the other's opinion.
About half of those in the survey said dating someone with a different political view might be fine in the short-run, but not for the long-haul. Thirty-eight percent of single women said they avoid dating men with "strong political views."
Political dating apps
So why hasn't someone created a dating app that filters out potential mates by their political persuasion? Way ahead of you -- lots of people have.
Before the election, Forbes highlighted eight dating apps designed to match political soul-mates. Included in the collection are apps for liberals who want to avoid conservatives and conservatives who want to weed out liberals.
For example, Maple Match puts Americans freaked out over Trump in touch with a potential partner in Canada, where presumably everyone is liberal. Conservatives Only is pretty self-explanatory.
Since the election, which seems to have cranked up the vitriol to about 11 on the dial, there is a new dating app that seems to reflect the tenor of the times. Called Hater, it matches people based on what they hate, not what they like.
The hatred can be political, but doesn't have to be, which is kind of refreshing.