Dear Panel,

For a good relationship, do you think it's important for both people to have the same main interests in their lives?

I met a man who was like me in a lot of ways and we had the same interests. I am a student of writing, and it was wonderful to share that interest too. But even though we shared many interests, there was not that spark where I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.

Now I have met someone new. Though our lifestyles are simlar in some ways, we don't share basic common interests. However, inside it does feel right to be together.

Can such a relationship work? How important is it that those big interests are shared by the other person?

– Ammon

Female, age 43, Arizona