Dr Pam Spurr

He Has A Nose Like Groucho Marx

He Has A Nose Like Groucho Marx... But She's Convinced He Looks Like George Clooney (Proof That Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder)

I’m not surprised the gorgeous Sienna Miller has dumped the "I've been sleeping rough" looking, Rhys Ifans. Recent research explains the phenomenon where we think our lovers are better looking than they are in reality.

Those rose-coloured specs Mother Nature slips on us during the first flush of love, lose that romantic hue with time. At least for celebrities. That's why the Siennas and Julia Roberts (remember her whirlwind marriage to grizzled-looking, country singer Lyle Lovett?) tend to move on fairly swiftly.

It reminds me of my friend, Karen, who couldn't wait to introduce her George Clooney lookalike boyfriend - as she described him - to all of us. Yes, he had big brown eyes like George but the similarity ended there. Quite frankly he could’ve been Mr Bean’s brother.

But thank heavens for this biological quirk that's been discovered as Karen’s been happily in love with her Mr Bean for three years now. I say thankfully as many a lovely person might be passed over if not for this innate ability to see the best in someone new.

Otherwise most would be far too choosy to pick someone with looks that left something to be desired. And if this quirk of nature glues us together long enough to lay down potentially enduring emotional ties, that's a good thing.

But celebrities have options we don't. Potential partners fall at their feet. So they're prone to leave a partner once the romantic flush has dimmed revealing the reality - despite whatever good qualities they first saw in their partner, the outside world saw them as a Beauty-and-the-Beast type coupling. As image is important to the average celeb links to someone who lacks that desirability-quotient isn't a good thing.

Many of us see what we want - and sometimes we see the inner beauty rather than outer plainness. That gives everyone a chance in the fickle arena of love that is a notably ‘unlevel’ playing field. 

A similar article was published in the Times newspaper