Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Matabeleland South Bureau Chief
PLUMTREE-BASED couple Charmaine and Luke Dube have been married for 12 years and one of the common remarks they now get is of people marvelling at how much they resemble each other.

They started receiving these remarks at around seven years of marriage and as the years continued to roll by, more and more people kept telling them how much they look alike.

The couple says some people they meet for the first time mistake them for siblings because of their similar facial features.
They say people don’t only marvel at their appearance but their similar mannerisms as well.
Charmaine said people feel that the way she thinks, behaves and expresses herself is now similar to her husband’s.

“We’ve been married for 12 years and the more we progress in our marriage, the more people say my husband and I look alike. To be honest, sometimes I see this similarity when I look at some of the pictures that we’ve taken together. During the first years of our marriage, we never got these sentiments but as our marriage progressed people started with these remarks.”

“It also confuses me because my husband and I are not related. When I look at our old pictures, I don’t see the resemblance but when I look at our current pictures I see the similarities. People we meet for the first time mistake us for siblings. I usually ask myself whether our facial features could’ve changed along the way for us to look alike,” she said.
Luke said people often marvel at how they mirror each other’s behaviour.

He said he understood how the behavioural similarities came about but the facial similarities remained a mystery to him.
Luke said he has a strong bond with his wife which has helped them display the same character and personality.

“I spend a lot of time with my wife and that has helped to strengthen our bond. We make sure that we’re open with one another and we talk about anything. Even after we had children, we made sure that we spent time and did a lot of things together.”
“Somewhere along the way, I picked up some mannerisms from my wife and she picked up some from me. We then fused all of this into our lifestyle and that is why we have so many similarities. This has really helped us ensure a peaceful environment prevails in our home and it’s easier to make decisions,” he said.

The Dubes are not the only couple that has received such remarks.
Favayo and Irene Chinyere from Mberengwa who have been together for 52 years said people say they have grown to look alike.
Irene said people feel that she and her husband now behave as one person when it comes to some aspects of life.

“People always tell us that we now look alike and they also marvel at how our behaviour is synchronised. I guess when people stay together for a long time there’s a lot which they pick from one another which results in all these similarities. Some of these connections are spiritual. They don’t only have to do with actions but they also have to do with the inner person,” she said.

Social scientists believe that when two people stay together for a long time, they may show similar behavioural traits. A husband and wife after staying together may have the same line of thought, similar talking habits, similar facial and verbal expressions, similar eating habits and similar reactions among other traits. Couples who look similar may also be similar in their personality, lifestyle and emotions.

Similarities in facial appearance however have left many people guessing what could be the cause. Do couples really start to look alike when they have been together for a long time? It puzzles many as some couples grow to look alike while others remain distinctly different.

According to an article on CBS Radio, researchers have found that couples do not grow to look more alike over time. They look alike from the very beginning. Stanford University researchers found that people tend to pick partners with similar features as their own from the onset. According to late psychologist Robert Zajonc, married couples living together for over 20 years started to resemble each other because of how in sync they became with one another, unconsciously imitating each other’s expressions which gradually changed their facial features.

Social scientist Reverend Muiti Sibanda said similarities among couples may not be visible at the onset of their union but may become noticeable after they occupy the same environment, engage in the same activities, eat the same food and mimic each other’s emotional expressions, all of which can influence facial appearance.

“Scientifically, being in the same environment, eating the same food, living under the same weather conditions and generally having a common lifestyle may shape your appearance. People may have similarities from the onset but the complexion or body size may camouflage them. When the couple develops the same complexion, same body size, same dressing style, same facial expressions then some of the similarities may become more visible,” he said.

Rev Sibanda said there were a number of aspects which can determine how someone looks such as the way they smile, laugh, how they glance or stare, how they carry their head, how they react among other issues. He said if a couple is in sync in these tendencies, they can look alike.

Health expert Professor Solwayo Ngwenya, who is also Mpilo Central Hospital clinical director, however said it was not biologically and scientifically possible for two people born of different parents to evolve and look the same just because they have been married and have stayed together for several years. — @DubeMatutu

 

Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Matabeleland South Bureau Chief
PLUMTREE-BASED couple Charmaine and Luke Dube have been married for 12 years and one of the common remarks they now get is of people marvelling at how much they resemble each other.

They started receiving these remarks at around seven years of marriage and as the years continued to roll by, more and more people kept telling them how much they look alike.

The couple says some people they meet for the first time mistake them for siblings because of their similar facial features.
They say people don’t only marvel at their appearance but their similar mannerisms as well.
Charmaine said people feel that the way she thinks, behaves and expresses herself is now similar to her husband’s.

“We’ve been married for 12 years and the more we progress in our marriage, the more people say my husband and I look alike. To be honest, sometimes I see this similarity when I look at some of the pictures that we’ve taken together. During the first years of our marriage, we never got these sentiments but as our marriage progressed people started with these remarks.”

“It also confuses me because my husband and I are not related. When I look at our old pictures, I don’t see the resemblance but when I look at our current pictures I see the similarities. People we meet for the first time mistake us for siblings. I usually ask myself whether our facial features could’ve changed along the way for us to look alike,” she said.
Luke said people often marvel at how they mirror each other’s behaviour.

He said he understood how the behavioural similarities came about but the facial similarities remained a mystery to him.
Luke said he has a strong bond with his wife which has helped them display the same character and personality.

“I spend a lot of time with my wife and that has helped to strengthen our bond. We make sure that we’re open with one another and we talk about anything. Even after we had children, we made sure that we spent time and did a lot of things together.”
“Somewhere along the way, I picked up some mannerisms from my wife and she picked up some from me. We then fused all of this into our lifestyle and that is why we have so many similarities. This has really helped us ensure a peaceful environment prevails in our home and it’s easier to make decisions,” he said.

The Dubes are not the only couple that has received such remarks.
Favayo and Irene Chinyere from Mberengwa who have been together for 52 years said people say they have grown to look alike.
Irene said people feel that she and her husband now behave as one person when it comes to some aspects of life.

“People always tell us that we now look alike and they also marvel at how our behaviour is synchronised. I guess when people stay together for a long time there’s a lot which they pick from one another which results in all these similarities. Some of these connections are spiritual. They don’t only have to do with actions but they also have to do with the inner person,” she said.

Social scientists believe that when two people stay together for a long time, they may show similar behavioural traits. A husband and wife after staying together may have the same line of thought, similar talking habits, similar facial and verbal expressions, similar eating habits and similar reactions among other traits. Couples who look similar may also be similar in their personality, lifestyle and emotions.

Similarities in facial appearance however have left many people guessing what could be the cause. Do couples really start to look alike when they have been together for a long time? It puzzles many as some couples grow to look alike while others remain distinctly different.

According to an article on CBS Radio, researchers have found that couples do not grow to look more alike over time. They look alike from the very beginning. Stanford University researchers found that people tend to pick partners with similar features as their own from the onset. According to late psychologist Robert Zajonc, married couples living together for over 20 years started to resemble each other because of how in sync they became with one another, unconsciously imitating each other’s expressions which gradually changed their facial features.

Social scientist Reverend Muiti Sibanda said similarities among couples may not be visible at the onset of their union but may become noticeable after they occupy the same environment, engage in the same activities, eat the same food and mimic each other’s emotional expressions, all of which can influence facial appearance.

“Scientifically, being in the same environment, eating the same food, living under the same weather conditions and generally having a common lifestyle may shape your appearance. People may have similarities from the onset but the complexion or body size may camouflage them. When the couple develops the same complexion, same body size, same dressing style, same facial expressions then some of the similarities may become more visible,” he said.

Rev Sibanda said there were a number of aspects which can determine how someone looks such as the way they smile, laugh, how they glance or stare, how they carry their head, how they react among other issues. He said if a couple is in sync in these tendencies, they can look alike.

Health expert Professor Solwayo Ngwenya, who is also Mpilo Central Hospital clinical director, however said it was not biologically and scientifically possible for two people born of different parents to evolve and look the same just because they have been married and have stayed together for several years. — @DubeMatutu