A steady diet of romantic sitcom movies sets us up to be disappointed with the imperfect love of spouses or family.

That's the conclusion lead researcher Kimberly Johnson came to after exploring the influence romantic comedies have on us. Johnson and her researchers at Heriot Watt University in Edinburg, Scotland, sought to determine if romantic comedies influence how we view love, sex, and marriage.

They examined 40 box office hits between 1995 and 2005, such as Runaway Bride, Notting Hill, You've Got Mail, Maid in Manhattan, and While You Were Sleeping. Her conclusion was that watching these films harmed love lives by creating wildly unrealistic expectations.

Source: Richard Alleyne, “Romantic Comedies Make Us ‘Unrealistic About Relationships,’ Claim Scientists,” The Telegraph (12-15-08); Moreland and Muehlhoff, The God Conversation: Using Stories and Illustrations to Explain Your Faith (IVP, 2017), Page 152