Marriage psychologists reveal Issue 1. 1 Signs of divorce –

If you want to know if your marriage is heading to Splitsville, don’t check your partner’s phone number – check their faces.

One-sided mouth lifting – a superior subtle smile – may just be the number one red flag for divorce, said Dr. John Gottman, a mastermind, behind one of the most extensive marriage studies of all time.

His research recently dissected in popular unplanned podcasts, discovering four nasty little habits – criticism, contempt, defense, and stone walls – considered “Four Knights of Apocalypse.”

Experts warn that this is despise, that is the real kiss of death.

“Dr. John Gottman, a marriage and family counselor, did the largest marriage experiment ever,” body language expert Vanessa Van Edwards recently told hosts Matt and Abbey Howard.

She continued: “He brought the couple to his lab and if one of the members of the couple raised their mouths to another, he could tell you if they were going to divorce – because he was looking for contempt.”

He knows his stuff. Van Edwards added: “Gottman can predict divorce with an astonishing 93.6% accuracy.”

Van Edwards explains that contempt is the most corrosive of all emotional sabotagers.

“The fear bursts out and you calm down. Happiness comes, and you go back to normal. Anger comes, and you calm down.”

“But don’t despise. If you feel contempt or disdainful of others, if not resolved, it’s loud and grows.”

She continued: “That’s why you have two people who can’t even look at each other at the end of your marriage.”

Van Edwards suggests that if you endure contempt from yourself or your partner, it’s time to solve it directly.

“Ask, ‘What’s going on? Are you okay? What do you think? I want to be here for that.’ Because that’s the case, you can despise anything so that it can be resolved,” she said.

“You can then fix it, or become an enemy.”

She also argues that many couples are trapped in an endless loop of the same three arguments–they just don’t realize it.

“You have to sit with your partner and figure out what are the three arguments at your basic root level,” she advises.

“That way, when you are involved in an argument, even if you feel like you still don’t agree, you can say ‘This is parameter 2 – we are in a deadlock.’”

Clinical psychologist David M. Schneer PhD supported Gottman’s discovery in a 2019 article: “Disgust and contempt are a relationship, what’s going on with gasoline and racing.”

He cited signs such as eye movements, curly mouths—even subtle irritation, such as picking up clothes or cleaning fingers in the middle of Cornwall—ignoring signals.

Schneer calls the move a “lint pickup,” which he says is screaming more than ever.

So, how do you put out before the torch burns down your love life?

Schneer suggests making a joke, switch the theme to something you both like, or if it’s too much, simply walk away to calm down.

Love may be blind, but is contempt? It is written on your face.