>> For many Americans, politics has become far more personal and divisive. Now in the run-up to the November election, that is creating friction in families. Tonight, we look at the impact of politics on marriages, dating, and families as part of our ongoing series. >> For this family, politics is never too far from home. >> Whom are you voting for? >> I will go with Biden. >> Trump. >> Joe Biden all of the way. >> They were married nine years ago. They have always butted heads, even making ligh
t of it in their wedding vows. >> I said something about still loving him even though he votes room -- wrong. We last. >> She is the executive director of Colorado wins, a labor union representing thousands of state employees. She has always been a diehard liberal. >> As long as I can remember, I have been a Democrat. >> Her husband is on the opposite side. He voted for Donald Trump. >> He is probably not that nice of a guy. But I think overall his policies probably have my best interests in min
d. >> He says he will vote for him again in November if he is the nominee. >> The economy was good. >> Both admit it has led to shouting matches. >> It comes out of nowhere. >> It does get heated. We have big fights. We have heard there are people who are opposite parties and they just avoid the topic. I don't understand how people do the. Politics is a big deal to me. >> They are part of a small minority in America that is growing even smaller, marriages between Democrats and Republicans. This
polarized time when politics have become so personal has led to fewer people dating and marrying people with different views. And it is one factor in a decline in marriages. They have dropped by 60% since the 1970's. >> People are waiting longer. Or for going. Part of the challenge is there are different biological camps. >> The director of the national marriage project at the university of Virginia studies the impact of marriage on society. >> A much larger share of young women who are in the m
ore Progressive camp has more than doubled since the 1980's. Women who are identifying as liberal. We saw a modest uptick in the share of young men who are single and identified as conservatives. There are a lot of issues that are dividing Americans now. That makes it harder for people who are Republican to go with a democratic family members. >> Political tension was not something she expected to face with her husband. >> The day after the election in 2016, my husband was working in Italy. I ca
lled him because I have never been political. I am an anti-news, artsy gal. I called him and said Hillary lost and I was absolutely in tears. He said of course, she should have. I said here we go. That was the beginning of realizing that his beliefs were different than mine. >> In an effort to find support after the election, she started a private Facebook group, wives of the deplorable's, a tongue-in-cheek name drawing on a comment by Hillary Clinton. A handful of the group members spoke to us
but did not want to use their last names. >> I think politics were not discussed as intensely. Before the 2016 election. I knew he was a Republican and I was a Democrat. I have no idea that these were some of the beliefs he had. That is very hard to stomach. >> Most of these mixed political marriages have survived. Some ended in divorce. The 2016 election was a turning point for the mall. >> I needed other women to talk to who were in similar situations to help walk me through it, figure out str
ategies, get to common ground again. >> If you look at the group, you will hear a lot of pain that women are struggling to be able to maintain the relationships. In some cases, they are not able to continue. This is the way of the world right now. With friends, relatives. Polar opposites, different silos , not able to listen to each other. >> These political tensions are not just with married couples. He says many young Americans are choosing to only date people with their same political views.
A recent survey found 81% good prefer not to date across the aisle when it comes to serious relationships. >> There is another supply of liberal men for liberal women. And in undersupplied liberal -- conservative women for the conservative men. We are seeing a large minority of folks having difficulty finding someone who fits their worldview. >> Their daughter is one of those young people. >> I think it is really a case-by-case basis. >> There not issues that if you say somebody has a different
view from the on this, that would not matter? >> Absolutely. Reproductive rights, lgbtq plus rights, immigrant rights, really if black lives matter, that is important. >> I think conservatives deftly need to stick together. >> A political advisor who served in the trump administration created a dating app for conservatives called the right stuff. >> We are sorry you have wasted your time with people who do not see the world our way. >> We took it to an investor and he loved the idea. That was a
couple of years ago. We are off and running. >> You think it is good for all of us in the long run? ? To be separated this way >> If you match up in this day and age and you do not agree with some of the main values, it is going to end poorly and may in disaster. >> He says in the past, mixing politics and relationships has been beneficial to society. >> Marriage has tended to bridge the sexual divide. Bringing men and women together on a number of different fronts. There were many marriages bac
k in the day when you had a Democrat and a Republican getting married. Moderating their approach to life in general. Today, because of this more polarized context, people are tending to marry along similar lines. >> The context is greater than they cannot find a date for Saturday night? >> There is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But people don't realize is that happiness in our love lives is not just for ourselves or for our kids but for the wider country. >> Even when there are pr
ofound disagreements in those connections, some couples have figured out how to turn the focus to what brought them together in the first place. >> We used to scream at each other outside in the hot tub. Literally. Where we live, everybody can hear you. We just this last couple of months were like, this is a politics free zone. >> Humor has saved us now. We can get to a disagreement in less than a minute. We kinda of make the other person crack up. >> Others acknowledge that repairing fractured
relationships will take time. >> It took us seven or eight years to get past all of this anger. It will take us a while to get back to where we were. Hopefully improve our relationship and therefore it. But it will take time. >> Their secret for happiness across the divide is focusing on what they have in common. >> I firmly believe legitimately everybody wants wants best. If you come from that position, I just disagree with the path that she seeks. That is it. Politics is a big part but so are
the kids and everything else. The things we like about each other. That is more than who I voted for. >> If we can figure out a way we can all still love each other despite the differences, I think that is important. ♪♪
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