Is love blind? According to the study, couples rated the physical appeal of their partners higher than that of strangers.

Love really is blind when it comes to physical flaws, it would seem.

Research suggests that we view our loved ones through rose-tinted glasses that overlook the crooked noses, bulgingtummies or other attributes that might put others off.

As a result, husbands and wives think their other halves are more attractive than they really are.

The phenomenon could help explain some apparently physically mis-matched couples such as the glamorousBeyonce and Jay-Z, the strikingLara Stone and David Walliams, or the statuesqueSophie Dahl and the diminutiveJamie Cullum.

The ‘positive illusion’ theory comes from researchers who asked 70 couples to rate their other halves for attractiveness.

Questions included how attractive their husband, wife, boyfriend or girlfriend was to the opposite sex, and how they rated compared with others of the same age. The answers were kept confidential to prevent any partners taking umbrage.

Some of those taking part also rated photos of their partners. In addition, members of the public judged the looks of all 140 men and women taking part.