Yes, I think being able to enjoy the same foods helps make daily life smoother and happier. Breakfast and lunch can diverge without friction but I like dinner as the sit down together share a meal time. And figuring out and producing that meal is a struggle before divergent tastes are introduced.

A friend of mine (Italian heritage) had a funny opinion when considering the viability of an upcoming marriage. He said ”It will never last….neither one of them can cook.”

Well, I believe that Elery and I have a mutually content and loving marriage, and we've been married 17 years in May. He does have a good sense of humor, although it leans toward pranks on the grandkids. We don't like the same TV at all. I rarely watch television, although when I do I don't want to be upset or angry. I want the good guys to win, the bad guys to lose and everyone to live happily ever after. He likes war movies and murder mysteries, both of which I abhor. When he watches TV I go plant something or take the laptop in another room and it's all good. As for food, he likes hot and spicy, his favorite cuisine is Mexican. I am a complete wuss about chilies and get to the point where if I have to eat anything with cumin in it I'm going to retch. He loves lamb, I'm never eating it again. I also dislike curry and some of the mideastern spices, which he also likes a lot.

He makes breakfast, which for me is a cup of black coffee, one egg over easy and one slice of toast, buttered, or some oatmeal. I just can't stomach much in the morning. His can be anything from last night's cabbage rolls to huevos rancheros to refried beans on a tortilla topped with an egg and everything is liberally covered with sliced habaneros or hot sauce or sriracha. I make supper. If he wants lamb chops I'll make those and I'll have some of last night's leftover chicken. If I really want chicken pot pie he'll eat it, although he doesn't much care for it. He gets lamb tamales and I have a bowl of the home canned corn chowder on the shelf. I make a pot of chili and he'll have a bowl full with lots of chilies and I'll have a spoonful over a baked potato. It all works out for us, probably because neither of us demands that the other conform to their preferences. .

Fortunately we both like beans and cornbread and lots of fresh garden vegetables, so we do have some foods in common. I guess I'm the "Grandma" here, because I'll try anything once, but am pretty picky in what I'll actually eat.

Annie

I remember my grandparents who didn't quite live to 75 years of marriage, but came close and went three weeks apart. Grandpa liked anything new, flavorful and good. Grandma tried to look after his health and diet and would bat his hand away. At a party or holiday, Grandpa could be heard muttering, “No! I like this stuff!” But she got him to the end with her no matter what his gallbladder and other organs assaulted him with.

I actually think that more than anything, commitment and respect are key. Doing for each other and holding up each other. After passing their own 60th, my mother started saying, ”Forgive each other every day.” I'm not sure, but I think that came from TV. My parents got along very well, and were madly in love until the end. Still, good advice.

That said, I agree that Hobitmom's three things sure make the daily a lot easier! Especially if you're not one of those couples who make their own meals even when eating together, or where one partner demands a very narrow list of possibles and must be accomodated to the distaste of the other. That's where the sense of humor really helps!

My first husband was picky and often would come home and just say that he wasn't hungry..... my man of 35 years eats pretty much everything except lemons on chicken which I miss, and we enjoy ourselves. I love cooking so it is a big deal for me.

Thanks Floral. My DH of 35 years is like yours. He'll eat anything, and be perfectly happy doing so. Always with a thank you. He's even OK with my miserable failures! He can't cook worth a darn, and I love to, so we're fine that way. So different from my first H. Me, being young and eager to please, put a lid on my own tastes and culinary desires. Not a big deal at first, but as time went on, it became a bigger deal, until it became just one part of a very sad package. This is just something for every couple to creatively work through.......or not.

My love and I have a lot of the same food likes, and the same willingness to try things. It helps a lot that I'm a very good cook. We are good on food. Some of the exes- meh, some of them had food differences that it would have rubbed over time.

TV shows... for sure we have some different tastes, and don't torture each other with it. We also have a lot we both like, and tend to watch that stuff when we are watching together.

We laugh a lot together. And sometimes at each other :)

First, I think respect and flexibility are important in a relationship. No doubt compatibility, love and commitment rank high up on the list.

As far as food, we mostly like the same food. One thing that we don't agree on is he likes seafood and it's a big no no for me. I do all the cooking as he barely knows where the glasses are no less cook.

TV shows! Yikes, we are so opposite in that category. So most of the time I busy myself doing chores, gardening, phone calls. His tv is on for at least 12 hours a day since he retired. When he leaves the house, I shut it off, turn the radio on and dance away.

HAHA that's great about the TV Orchidrain. My DH watches CNN until it drives me batty. And I hate commercials with a rip-roaring passion. I mute them immediately! (Even when the music comes on, telling me they are on the way.) He quietly unmutes when its time. We have our own remotes, obviously. My time in the kitchen cooking is a time of peaceful focus, as I can't hear the dang thing. Your name reminds me of Purplerain. Do you dance to Prince maybe???

SWMBO is from Yakima WA, an agricultural town mostly known for apples and hops, and grew up eating stereotypical middle America "Betty Crocker food". I was born in NYC and lived in France, Taiwan, Canada, California, grew up eating various things including lots of Chinese, French, and California-style Mexican food.

Thus when we met, our culinary tastes were different.

I still remember taking her to sushi for an early date because she said she loved sushi, only to find after we were firmly engaged that she didn't actually like sushi after all - one can only speculate at her motivations for the white lie. Neither of us knew how to cook, so we went on that adventure together, and her tolerance for various cuisines has broadened considerably.

She eats most things now! Her lines remain drawn at food that she considers offal - spleen, kidneys, other organs, faces, etc - and she complains when there is no sauce on the fish, then remarks on how good the fish is without sauce. I think she still prefers Western cuisine but in general, will eat anything I make. Her own cooking remains mostly hometown comfort foods, so the experimentation on rejectamenta is left to me.

We do conflict about TV, in that she likes watching current TV series while I will only occasionally watch an episode of some older show like "Mad About You" and "Northern Exposure", which are my TV version of comfort food.

hobbit....I sure do dance to Prince along with maaannny others.

thats absolutely wonderful!

Hubby and I have been together almost 51 years, married.......gotta think! Almost 47! He was raised in Scotland and the people he stayed with were Of Indian decent, I believe. Both of us raised in the 60s with all the regulars.

He, however was introduced to all sorts of foods that I had no clue! (Haggis, boiled meat and cabbage, and curry! YUK) He also had the regular diet back in So CA! We have been gardening for 25+ years and, though, not vege, , much better diet! ;)