Washington: Couples lie to each other an average of three times a week, using deception to maintain happy relationships, a new study has found.
These white lies, however, are harmless as the motives behind them are not necessarily bad, researchers said.
The study looked at how often people expressed affection towards their partners even when they were not genuinely feeling it - otherwise known as deceptive affection.
This could be anything from complimenting your guy's haircut when you actually think it is heinous to kissing him goodbye even when you're really pissed, 'Fox News' reported.
As many as 57 participants (one person per couple) between the ages of 18 and 27 kept a week-long diary for the study.
"First, we trained them on what is deceptive affection. Every time this occurred with their romantic partner they were asked to write down what they were actually feeling, what they expressed to their partner, and why," said lead study author Sean Horan, assistant professor in the College of Communication at DePaul University.
The study showed participants were faking their feelings an average of three times per week.
Deception, for the most part, was used to help maintain the relationships.
"We don't always want to know the truth all the time," said Horan.
