GETTING your mum-in-law’s approval means she secretly fancies you, boffins insist.
Women and their daughters were found to be in tune when it came to their men — they both went for good looks over brains.
Both groups told researchers they thought intelligence and ambition were more important than appearance when it came to choosing a partner — but still overwhelmingly preferred the buffest fellas on offer.
Researcher Dr Madeleine Fugère thinks it shows the generations are in closer agreement than they think.
She said: “The physical attractiveness of a potential mate for daughters may be more important to both women and their parents than they consciously realise.”
Relationships with mother-in-laws are famously fraught — and often the subject of jokes by TV comedian Les Dawson.
But the findings from a US study suggest there may be a deeper dynamic at play after all.
In the study, 150 women, aged 18 to 44, and 134 of their mums, aged 39 to 69, were shown images of men next to short descriptions and told to choose who would make the best boyfriend.
Although both mums and daughters said brains were most important, two thirds of them went for the best-looking man.
Dr Fugère said: “Evolutionarily, both women and their parents benefit if the daughter chooses a partner with good genes for children or grandkids.”
