Is Your Relationship Symmetrical Or Complementary? A Therapist Explains The Difference

Every couple has their idea of what's fair. From chores to family matters, many couples delegate and decide on who does what in the relationship. Couples often aspire toward an "equal" partnership, but what exactly that looks like depends on the couple in question.

A complementary relationship might look like what was considered more traditional for couples historically. According to Earnshaw, a complementary relationship is one where one person does X and the other does Y. Partners divide up responsibilities such that each person is in charge of a different aspect of their shared life together.

In a symmetrical relationship, emphasis and importance is placed on equal effort from both partners in all areas, as opposed to each person doing something to complement the other.

"This means that both people are deciding to enter into relationships in which each person carries similar roles," Earnshaw explains. "Both partners work; both partners vocally agree to help with child-rearing and home care, etc."

According to Earnshaw, neither is healthier than the other.

"There is nothing superior about either relationship," she says. "Successful relationships can be created out of both complementary and symmetrical relationships as long as both people in the relationship are in true agreement about the arrangement."

Problems arise, she says, when couples think they're experiencing one type of relationship, when the reality is different, or when they can't agree on which they want to be.

Even among people who outwardly claim they want a more equal relationship (i.e., a symmetrical relationship), women in heterosexual couples still end up saddled with the bulk of the household chores—particularly the invisible labor involved in keeping the household and relationship moving, sometimes referred to as the mental load.

The mental load refers to being the one in charge of managing who's in charge of what, overseeing tasks to make sure they get done, reminding the other person to get their share of the tasks done, and being the person who has to plan everything. It disproportionately falls on women and has been linked1 to negative health consequences.

In complementary relationships, Earnshaw notes that "couples could potentially find 'fairness' in [that] distribution of the mental load (i.e., women doing all of it)."

In symmetrical relationships, couples often divide up household chores and child care equally—but they forget to account for this mental load, mostly because as a culture we've simply socialized women to automatically take up this role and socialized men to not even register this invisible labor their partners are doing for them.

Neither symmetrical nor complementary relationships are inherently "better" than the other. What does matter is that you and your partner are in agreement about your roles and responsibilities in the relationship. In this case, Earnshaw says it's important that people are "continually explicit about their expectations in relationships and that they talk to each other frequently about whether the expectation is being met."

And as time goes on, remember that people and relationships change, and that's OK. "You might start a relationship believing that one relationship structure is best," she says, "and later find that it doesn't truly work for your lifestyle or fit within your values."

Once you identify both what kind of relationship you're in and which you actually want, you can start the conversation with your partner to figure out how to get where you want to be.