Couples

Studies show that married people share a lot of similar personality traits. But is that because their personalities blend over time or did they have similar personality traits at the start? A new study shows, convincingly, that people tend to choose their future spouse based on similar personalities. Indeed, marriage does not mean people become more like their spouses. Researchers at Michigan State University analyzed data from 1,296 married couples, one of the largest studies of its kind.

Fred Couples wasn't trying to be cocky Wednesday when he said it: “There are some tournaments where I feel like people deserve to play and I feel like I deserve to be in this field. " Couples has won the Northern Trust twice in his career, in 1990 and 1992, and is an all-time fan favorite at Riviera Country Club. Couples, 53, is making his 31 st tournament appearance, more than any other player. He is not here this time on his golfing merits, however, playing on a sponsor's exemption.

Some had waited decades for this. So early Sunday, the first day they could legally wed, same-sex couples in Washington state held marriage ceremonies immediately after midnight and made plans to get hitched en masse. At the King County Courthouse, Sarah and Emily Cofer got married in casual clothes at 12:01 a.m., with their 9-month-old daughter in attendance.  At the same time, the Seattle Times reported, another ceremony  took place between Mary Davidson and Monica Rozgay at the Seattle Yacht Club.

It is not always easy to follow the audio transcript of the last two days' Supreme Court arguments over gay marriage. Just when you think you grasp what's going on, someone starts talking about “suspect classes” and “Article III” and “complementary authorities,” and you're lost again. Today, however, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in her hesitant but steely way, offered up perhaps the most easily understood analogy of the season to describe the two-tiered marriage system that has taken root in our country: “The full marriage, and then this sort of skim-milk marriage.” FULL COVERAGE: Same-sex marriage ban The courtroom erupted in laughter.

Chatting with women on websites for surrogate mothers, Melissa Todd stumbled upon an unusual opportunity. It required foreign travel — a quick trip to the Ukrainian city of Lviv to be impregnated using embryos created in vitro from sperm and eggs of donors. The pay was $38,000, nearly double what she had made the one previous time she had been a surrogate. Most uncommon was the arrangement itself. Typically, a couple hires a surrogate to carry and deliver a child for them, but in this case Todd would become pregnant first.

When Margaret first met her boyfriend, she weighed 105 pounds and wore short crop tops. But after 13 years together, the 55-year-old retiree from Torrance developed a "muffin top" that she just couldn't eliminate. So she did what so many other women do to get their bodies back: She had lipoplasty on her waist, hips and upper and lower abdomen in September. One week later, her boyfriend had lipoplasty for himself. "He hadn't thought about getting anything done, but after hearing how I would look afterward, he decided he should probably go ahead and have a little something done too," said Margaret, who asked that her last name not be used for privacy reasons.

If you're thinking about getting married, it can be important to consider whether you and your intended are financially compatible. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling has identified some key issues for couples to discuss: •How much debt do each of you have? Before you tie the knot, lay it all out for your partner to see: What you owe on credit cards, vehicle and student loans, and any other debt. "Don't hide anything, as that's really getting off on the wrong foot," the foundation said.

Sue Hopkins is beyond excited. Sunday is her wedding day. Sleep, she said, likely won't come Saturday night. Hopkins, 63, and her fiancee, Marji Lynn, in her 50s, are among 140 couples scheduled to marry at Seattle City Hall on Sunday - the first day same-sex weddings will be held in Washington state. Sunday, they said, a weight will be lifted from their shoulders: When they go out to eat, they will no longer be partners, but spouses. At work, they will be married. In social situations, others can more easily embrace them with the same love they have always felt toward each other.

Bradford Wells, a retired computer programmer in San Francisco, has chronic health problems that threaten his life and an immigration problem that threatens to split up his marriage and take away his caregiver. He was married seven years ago in Massachusetts to Anthony Makk, a citizen of Australia. But in June, Makk's visa expired. The couple applied for a spousal green card, but they expect to be denied because the Defense of Marriage Act forbids federal authorities from recognizing a same-sex marriage.