Power Couples; we all know them. Think about Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, Barack and Michelle Obama, that married couple who live on your street and do so much community organizing that they basically are the community. Voltaire and Emilie Du Châtelet….anyone?!
We’re all striving for relationship success, whether we’re in a relationship or at the still-in-the-Tinder-swiping stage of the journey. Being half of a power couple is a goal for many, and in answer to the obvious question, ‘what is a power couple?’ Usually, when you know, you just know.
But what actually makes a power couple? How do you and your significant other become a power couple?
According to experts, a power couple is a couple who supports each other’s individuality, and compliments each other’s strengths and successes.
They have each other’s back and appear strong and resilient to the outside world. Power couples include two people who are well known for their individual merit, rather than just being known as so-and-so’s husband or what’s-her-name’s wife.
You will know the accomplishments of both parties in the couple, and be kind of in awe of how powerful they are alone and as a unit.
Obviously, the best-known power couples are famous.
To add to my list at the beginning (yeah, I’ve been thinking about it) there’s Beyonce and Jay Z, Prince Harry and Megan Markle, Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra, honestly, the list is long. It seems like high flyers attract each other.
If you think about those famous couples, you may have a few ‘I didn’t know they were together’ moments. You’re impressed that two such impressive people have found each other.
Crucially, though, neither member of a power couple tries to step on their partner’s shoes. They have whole and separate lives and careers which are not focused on their relationship.
In fact, there are a few power-couples of the past who broke up due to some shoe-stepping.
Obviously, we all want to avoid that scenario. Luckily, I have your back. Here are 15 surefire ways to become a power couple. Unless… are you already part of one?
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1. Work As A Team
To claim power couple status, teamwork is super important. Just like in sports or mathletes, a team can’t succeed without the individual members striving for the success of the group as a whole.
Both people in a relationship need to be there, ready to work with their partner on overcoming problems and lifting each other up in the process.
When one person shines, the other feels as proud as if it’s their own achievement, and you can tell that by talking to them. A promotion for one is a promotion for both when a couple is a team! Being able to work together is huge in a long-lasting and successful relationship.
2. Take Turns In The Limelight
It’s a common misconception that a power couple has to include two alpha personalities, ruthless in their desire for success.
Actually, for a relationship to be truly successful, each person has to know when to step back and let their partner take the reins.
Each person is strong enough to lead and to follow, and the most important thing is going with the flow. This is one of the reasons many power couples get together a little later in life (George and Amal Clooney spring to mind), once both parties have established careers and don’t need that limelight constantly,
In some ways it’s like a dance, one person takes the lead and the other follows, and then they seamlessly switch over.
Neither person ever lets the other fall into the shadows, because they’re both as important as each other. This gives the impression that as a couple they experience constant success. And it allows you to rest, one at a time!
3. Have Separate Worlds Outside Your Relationship
Being each other’s entire universe is actually not a situation love tends to thrive in. It can lead to unnecessary pressure and can result in an unhealthy relationship.
It’s easy to think that power couples must be everything to each other and rely on each other for everything, but it’s not the case.
Power couples usually contain two people who are happy and secure in their lives, and have full lives both together and apart.
Separate hobbies and interests are really important and in general, a person will be better off with more than one important relationship in their life.
I’m talking about friends, family, co-workers. One person can’t be everything to you, to be happy you need all sorts of support!
4. Prioritize Quality Time, Not Money
Power couples know that spending quality time together is one of the most important elements of a healthy relationship. In fact, they go out of their way to make sure they get enough of it, even if that means working a bit less or sacrificing other things.
They don’t rely on money as the main source of happiness in their lives, as this will usually lead to stress and strain. Money may come from success, but it isn’t the main aim.
Studies have shown that satisfaction in love and long-lasting relationships are strongly connected to having a strong bond of friendship.
Even though a lot of people think a power couple must be wealthy, it turns out money isn’t the biggest thing that will make a partner happy. Surprise, surprise. The real money was the love you found along the way (not really, you cannot pay your rent with that. Sorry)!
5. Don’t Take Each Other For Granted
It really is easy to take your partner for granted sometimes. Over months or years, you grow accustomed to things your partner does for you, or expect them. Remembering to appreciate the little things is absolutely a power couple move. After all, the most basic component of a power couple? Happiness together.
If you find yourself feeling grateful and expressing that when your partner does something like bring you a cup of coffee in the morning, or a sweater when you seem cold, you’re on your way to being a power couple.
Don’t overlook the things done for you out of care and love.
6. Feel Secure
Power couples trust each other, and that’s a fact.
This is because their relationships are built on communication, respect, honesty, and commitment. If a couple is used to moving through situations together as a unit, they’re able to face just about any difficulty easily.
If you feel safe and secure knowing that your partner is working with you and not against you, trouble is much easier to overcome. Even when power couples are apart, they find ways to connect. Constant communication is key to feeling secure in a relationship, and power couples do that.
7. Compromise On Scheduling
Power couples have busy schedules, obviously!
With both people leading strong and rich lives clashes are going to happen. You’re always going to think your thing is more important, but this type of conflict is common and a big problem in relationships.
If people are unwilling to compromise on plans in a relationship it can make one or both people feel like they aren’t seen as important to their partner.
Power couples will be able to overcome these hurdles without too much trouble. Both parties understand that the natural ebb and flow of their relationship means sometimes they have to sacrifice wants for the sake of fairness and respect.
The long-term effects of this attitude will be better than any single event or party.
8. Be Strong As Individuals
Of course, the very nature of the power couple is that they’re strong together.
But they also have to be strong apart. In a power couple, each person is a capable individual and has their own merits.
They will be known for their own personalities and achievements as well as those of their partner, and if they didn’t have their partner they would still be an impressive individual. This can be down to trust and respect, each person continues pursuing their own paths and interests while in the relationship, as well as celebrating things together.
9. Thrive Together
The flipside of this is that you also work as an unstoppable unit!
To really qualify as a power couple you have to be successful on your own but also thrive in your partnership.
This means never tearing each other down and celebrating all of your individual and relationship successes equally. In a power couple, each person feels supported by their partner and excited to share news, goals, and experiences with them.
Despite being accomplished on your own, at the end of the day you are in a (hopefully) long-lasting partnership and you are on the up together.
10. Talk Openly About Goals And Successes
We all have hopes, dreams, and goals, and sometimes they can be difficult to share or discuss.
It’s a pretty vulnerable place to be, letting someone into your inner world. Power couples make a big effort to share these things with each other so that they can support each other to achieve them.
They understand that now they are in a partnership, the successes will be joint and will be far more likely to happen if they build their life around them together.
This can mean compromise, as life goals can come with big changes.
If one of you is dreaming of living abroad or making a total career change, the other should know so they can adjust their expectations of your future together.
11. Protect Each Other
Despite power couples being individually independent, they will protect their partner at all costs. A power couple will stick up for each other when needed, and always have one another’s back. A power couple tends to be one another’s biggest fan, and they aren’t shy about sharing their fandom.
If you are a power couple you will recognize when your partner needs you and put down everything else to make sure things are ok. You will work together to make things right, and if that means one person taking a stand for the other that’s no problem. You put your ego aside for the benefit of your relationship.
12. Exercise Together
Exercise is a great way to release endorphins, blow off steam and stay healthy. It’s not always easy to get around to it, so having a supportive cheerleader around helps loads.
Since power couples are each other’s number one cheerleaders, they’re great at motivating each other generally, and this extends to working out as well.
If you’re a power couple working out together, you’re motivating and being motivated at the same time. It’s another opportunity to celebrate each other’s successes and bond over a shared experience. This could be gym workouts, at-home yoga, hiking dates, tennis, skiing, ice skating together, whatever you’re into.
13. Respect Each Other In And Outside The Relationship
Power couples maintain a high level of respect for each other all the time. Even when times are tough or their partner isn’t there. This means being careful about how much you complain to friends and coworkers about your relationship or your partner.
Keeping it to a minimum means you appear as a team to the outside world, and true power couples will be able to work through their problems without moaning to others. I mean, does anyone want to be that guy at the office who always complains about his wife? And then you go to a staff picnic where you meet her, and realize she gave up a career in nursing to raise their children? And is way hotter than him?
Yeah, me neither.
14. Have A Couple Name
This is a silly one, but having a couple name, or ‘portmanteau’ (think Brangelina, Kimye, Bennifer) really shows that people think of you as a force to be reckoned with.
When you are referred to so often that people need a shorthand for you as a couple, you’re probably a power couple. Catch? You can’t really give this to yourselves. Though you might be able to gently suggest some ideas through jokes and/or a whisper campaign.
15. Empower Each Other
Perhaps the biggest thing that makes a power couple, is that you em… power each other. I mean, it’s in the name! Empowering is subtly different from supporting. I would hope all couples support each other.
Empowering your partner means you literally give them power to achieve things. This could be work-related, in personal situations, or at any time, really. Rallying around them and making them believe that they can do anything and you will be there to support them through it.
Power couples empower each other and are in turn grateful and happy, and the cycle continues.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve read this list and are feeling pretty smug, you’re probably already half of a power couple. And congrats!
But if not, there’s plenty of food for thought here that you can bring into your next relationship. People who would be a powerful match for you are probably already out there, and they probably know exactly what they want (it’s you! And it’s a power couple relationship).
Take steps towards finding them by taking my quiz on which dating app is best for you, do some studying for your first date, and get going on your journey to the top.
