You scroll your Instagram feed and see new posts from Beyonce, Zendaya – or any other celebrity you follow. These people are charming, inspirational, and adored by the best men and women alive. Whenever you look at them, you dream of finding someone who can complement you and become your power couple partner. But where should you go to find someone? Where do those power couples hang out, other than Oscars and Grammys ceremonies?
Take a step back. If you’re constantly searching for power couples, you’d better stop and dedicate some time to becoming a powerful person on your own before finding your equally powerful partner. Otherwise, it won’t work. Once you’ve completed this task, you can check out our guide on who a power couple is and what the 12 tell-tale signs of a power couple are.
Related reading: How to Become the Most Authentic Version of You
What Is a Power Couple?
A power couple is a union of influential individuals who support and intensify each other’s power.
A power couple is a unique partnership in which two people become more than the sum of their parts. A new magnetic energy emerges from two powerful energies that decide to build a relationship together. That’s why power couples act as a strong team, and neither one loses their independence or ability to make an impact on their own. They remain who they are – but get something more than that.
Can You Have Power Couple Status Without Celebrity?
You don’t need to be a celebrity to be a power couple. There are power couples in every area of life. If two people are successful in their own right, able to work together, and have a shared vision – they probably qualify for a power couple. If they are celebrities in their individual lives and have a strong relationship together – no doubt they are a powerful couple.
Celebrity status just proves you are a successful person on your own, but there are other ways to create a powerful relationship with someone by being powerful on your own.
Chances are, there is a power couple in your circle or family tree. You know, the pair that has the relationship you admire, bringing out the best in one another and never seeming to deal with any sort of messiness in their connection? That’s a true power couple, even if nobody knows who they are. You just feel their power and energy, and these criteria define power couples.
5 Examples of Power Couples
Who might relationship experts call a power couple? We’d easily nominate any of the following:
- Michelle Obama and Barack Obama
- Beyonce and Jay Z
- Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds
- Emily Blunt and John Krasinski
- Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor
You’ll probably never meet any of these people or have more than a parasocial relationship with them. So, it’s difficult to imagine being like them.
Instead of following social media images, think about the people within your own circle who have achieved power couple status. Those are the people you should aspire to.
Why Power Couples Have a Healthy Relationship?
Simply put, a power couple values their relationship and puts effort into it:
- They value what they have together
- They engage in open and effective communication
- They support and praise each other
- They work toward mutual goals
But most importantly, they don’t lose themselves in the relationship. Instead, they maintain their status individually and as a couple.
Related reading: Setting Relationship Rules For a Healthy Partnership
12 Signs You Are a Power Couple
How can you tell if you share common things with power couples in your relationship? How can you understand that you support one another in meaningful, not just performative, ways? In this section, we’ll share 12 key power couple characteristics so you can get the answers to your questions.
1. Keeping Messiness Private
A power couple doesn’t run around spilling the tea. They have too much mutual respect for one another to make any relationship messiness public.
Yes, power couples have their struggles. They fight and experience relationship issues. In that sense, they are just like every other couple. But you won’t see them complaining about one another to friends or on social media. They care to strengthen the relationship and build each other up.
When difficult times hit, they continue to honor their commitment as partners. So, rather than becoming gossip fodder, they seek help. Power couples won’t hesitate to work with a relationship therapist or other professional to foster healthy communication and proactively approach their partnership. They own their problems and realize they can hurt each other’s reputations if they go public.
This doesn’t mean they never discuss their issues in private. They face challenges and make mistakes. However, they rely on effective communication, meaning that their conversations remain in the context of overcoming their problems. For them, it’s about accountability and setting an example, not being fodder for gossip.
2. Hypying Each Other Up
Power couples know that competition and jealousy do nothing but weaken their union. They have too much mutual respect for that. Instead, they celebrate and honor every success they have frequently and publicly.
Power couple partners take time to congratulate one another privately. What they never do is compete. When one person gets ahead, both people benefit.
3. Each Pursues Individual Goals and Interests
Looking at inspirational couples, you will find two successful people who thrive wonderfully as individuals. Each one has their own interests. They work towards personal goals they have set for themselves. They pursue hobbies that the other person may have no interest in whatsoever.
By maintaining that independent streak, they have fuller lives. When they are together each partner is a more fulfilled, interesting individual. That’s why they can create power couples with anyone.
Related reading: How to Focus on Yourself in a Relationship
4. Communication Is Open and Effective
Open communication is key to any healthy relationship. That’s why power couples communicate openly, even when that means tackling difficult topics.
Here are the basics of effective communication for power couples:
- Ensure the other is heard
- Prioritize honesty
- Go through the process of fixing issues that arise as a team
5. Nurturing Interpersonal Relationships While in a Couple
Do you ignore your other relationships when you are in a romance? That’s no way to become a power couple if so! Powerful people take their strength in roots and community, so they need to maintain interpersonal relationships and find the best place for them in their lives.
Sure, the two of you should prioritize each other. But you should also feel secure enough to encourage them to spend time with friends and family. Even more, you should have your own business and networking connections to have independent power sources.
Don’t worry about tongues wagging if you are seen at parties and events together. A power couple is always confident and trusting enough to explore the world solo and as partners.
6. Hanging With Other Power Couples
There’s a reason Hollywood power couples are in the same room together. It’s all about the powerful community they need to rely on. Most couples understand that energy and attitude are catching, and they intentionally associate with other couples who can inspire them.
Here are some good signs your relationship is on the way to couple’s goals:
- You avoid couples who are constantly bickering and backbiting
- You seek out more time with couples who are positive and communicate in healthy ways
- You empower each other to do great things, even if it means
7. Dealing With Issues as a Team
Too many people treat conflicts with their partners as a zero-sum game. They see a binary choice where one person wins and another loses. That immediately creates competition and makes it difficult to compromise without one person feeling as though they have lost.
People in an aspirational relationship see problems as an opportunity to work with their partner as a team. Problems and disagreements are things to work on, not a source of competition.
Each person brings their skills to the table to find a solution. Then, the couple moves forward feeling good about the situation because they have both won.
8. Having Mutual Goals
A couple’s success is all about setting goals and going for your dreams as a team. Whether related to your personal life, career, or finances, a couple’s goals are a must.
When you have mutual life goals, you are motivated to work together. Even better, you can rely on the other’s strengths, talk about how things are going, and enjoy the victory when you achieve your dreams together.
9. Relationship Dynamics Changes Easily
A good relationship therapist will never tell you that your partnership is 50/50. That’s simply not true. At any given time, one partner needs more support, and the other partner is ready to step up to protect and nurture.
Shifts in power dynamics are great for a healthy relationship. But it only works if each person is willing to be strong and independent – but also vulnerable and seeking support. This way, you take the lead as needed and pass the baton to your lover when you need help.
It takes a lot of trust and work to feel safe enough to be part of a powerful duo. But once you reach this level of trust, the power of your couple lifts you up whenever you feel down.
Related reading: How to Build Trust in a Relationship: 15 Tips
10. Quality Time Is Always a Goal
“Active listening is not only a matter of making yourself available to hear someone talk, but it is showing the sender, physically, that you are receiving and understanding their message on all levels.”
Susan C. Young, positive impact and change expert
Aspirational couples may not have much time to spend together alone. They are busy maintaining careers, working towards their goals, and building an empire. So, they must squeeze the most out of every moment together. That’s why they spend quality time together.
How do they do that? It’s all about respect for one another and their time together:
- Actively listen to one another
- Explore, create, and do other active things
- Share ideas about how to use their time best together
- Any distractions or disruptions take away from any moment of togetherness
- Skip small talk to discuss mutual and personal goals
Related reading: Quality Time – It’s a Love Language
11. Encouraging Other Couples to Be Amazing Together
A power couple may not be relationship experts, but they are inspirational. They support other couples’ relationship goals and motivate friends and family to achieve great things with their partners.
Ask yourself these questions in this regard:
- How do you handle it when another couple comes to one or both of you struggling?
- What is your response when a friend complains to you about their partner?
- Do you advise them to work against one another or to talk about their issues as a team?
When you can help another couple achieve great things, you become an aspirational couple.
12. Holding One Another Accountable
You expect great things from one another and aren’t afraid to be vocal about that. That’s why sometimes, the best thing you can do for your partner is to hold them accountable.
Sadly, too many think supporting their partner means endorsing everything they do. That’s not the case at all. They may do it behind closed doors, but these couples rely on mutual accountability. That’s how they lead each other to greatness.
Healthy Relationships Are Always Powerful
As a power couple, you are always creating something great together. You do this by supporting one another, communicating, working hard, and giving hope to others by serving as an example. Even better, they do all of this while maintaining a sense of independence. If you are willing to do the work, you and your life partner can accomplish this level of success.
