Imagine prancing down a populated city street when suddenly you turn the corner to uncover the senior citizen awareness parade taking place in your local park. In order to get to work, you have to traipse through the crowd. Pushing and shoving through the compacted elderly citizens, you start becoming concerned because you think you start seeing double. Two of each older person is not a normal occurrence in bulk consumption, but little did you know that this is actually not at all what it seemed. This observation that elderly couples that lived together for a long time start to look more and more alike has become a phenomenon that has caught the eye of everyone. So, what you thought was just a hallucination of the same person was actually a symbol of everlasting love. 

This phenomenon is widely popular in the present day, and the reason for the doppelganger couples can be attributed to many different factors. For one, a study made by the University of Illinois found that usually people are attracted to someone that resembles their parents. Since you are half of your parent’s DNA, this can contribute to your selection of a similar looking partner. Not only is it just your parents’ DNA, but it is also popular for people to be attracted to those with similar DNA to each other. According to the University of Western Ontario, spouses of identical twins were more genetically alike than non-identical twins.

Another study at the University of Michigan conducted by Robert Zajonc was very successful in discovering many exciting hypotheses. Zajonc uncovered the idea that typically people are attracted to those with similar personalities and in return physical resemblance; like smile lines that develop over time from people with comedic characteristics. He also suggested that many couples living with each other would start mimicking each other’s facial expressions, hence, altering one’s appearance if it becomes a regular occurrence. Even doing the same activities, eating the same thing, and living in the same environment, can be noted as contributing factors. But, by far, the most inspiring piece of evidence from Zajonc’s experiments, was the discovery that the happier a couple said they were the more likely they resembled each other. Sam Frye, a fellow high schooler, when asked about her thoughts on possibly looking like her future soulmate stated, “ It’s weird to think about, but also sort of comforting because I won’t be old and ugly alone,” and I think many would agree with her. So, when it’s your time to scout for a soulmate, make sure that they are the one for you because if you two are a “happily ever after” sort of couple then you could end up looking just like them.