Most claims about the value of a wellness benefit come from the company selling it. This one does not. A newly published study in the peer-reviewed journal Family Process applied a rigorous cost-benefit study framework, the same nonpartisan model the Washington State Institute for Public Policy uses to evaluate whether public programs are worth funding, to two randomized controlled trials of the OurRelationship program. The result was a $6.60 return for every $1 spent, or $1,847 in estimated benefits per individual. That number holds up even under conservative assumptions.
If you have already looked into why smart employers are adding relationship benefits, this study is the independent data point that backs up the business case with numbers nobody at OurRelationship calculated themselves.
What the Study Actually Measured
Before this study, most of what we knew about OurRelationship came from outcome measures: how couples reported feeling about their relationship after finishing the program, and whether individual symptoms like anxiety or depression improved. Those measures matter, but they don’t answer the question a finance director or benefits committee actually asks, which is whether the dollars spent come back in some measurable form. This new paper closes that gap. Researchers took existing clinical trial data and ran it through an economic model built specifically to answer that kind of question, arriving at the OurRelationship cost-benefit study finding of a $6.60 return for every $1 invested.
Two Randomized Controlled Trials, Not a Single Case Study
The researchers did not rely on a single small sample or a self-selected group of especially motivated participants. They pulled data from two separate randomized controlled trials, the gold standard for this kind of research, and applied the cost-benefit model to both. Randomized controlled trials assign participants to a program or a comparison group by chance, which rules out the possibility that people who were already doing better in their relationships were simply more likely to sign up. That design choice is part of why this finding carries more weight than typical marketing statistics about relationship program return on investment.
The first trial followed a nationally representative sample of couples experiencing relationship distress over a period of roughly a year and a half, comparing those who completed OurRelationship to a waitlist control group. The second trial followed a national sample of low-income couples over nearly two years, with more than 85 percent of participants at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line. Running the same economic model across both a broader distressed population and a specifically low-income population is part of why the researchers describe the resulting $6.60 figure as a conservative, replicable estimate rather than a best-case scenario built around one narrow group.
Where the $6.60 Comes From
The $6.60 figure breaks down into specific categories rather than one vague estimate. Researchers calculated $790 in benefits per individual tied to reduced anxiety, $386 tied to improved insomnia, $366 tied to reduced alcohol misuse, and $304 tied to reduced depression, adding up to $1,847 in total estimated benefit per person. Against a program cost of $280 per individual, that produces the $6.60 return.
What is notable is what the researchers left out of that number. The estimate does not include the program’s documented effects on coparenting conflict, child adjustment, or overall perceived health, even though earlier trials of OurRelationship found measurable improvements in all three. It also does not account for the cost savings tied to future relationship deterioration, which separate research has estimated at more than four billion dollars a year in taxpayer-funded assistance in a single state alone. In other words, the $6.60 return is likely a floor, not a ceiling.
For context on what the alternative looks like, it helps to compare what couples therapy costs versus an online relationship program, since the cost side of this equation is a large part of why the ratio comes out so favorably.
Why the Washington State Institute for Public Policy Model Matters
The Washington State Institute for Public Policy, often shortened to WSIPP, built its benefit-cost model to help state and federal governments decide whether public programs are worth continued funding. It is not a marketing tool. It is the same framework used to evaluate things like early childhood education programs and substance abuse treatment initiatives, where the stakes and scrutiny are high. Applying that model to OurRelationship means the program’s economic value was assessed using the same standard used for large-scale public policy investments, not a standard OurRelationship built or chose for itself.
This Holds Up Even in the Worst-Case Scenario
Any economic model involves assumptions, and the researchers stress-tested theirs. Running a sensitivity analysis across a range of conservative and optimistic inputs, the return per dollar spent ranged from $1.88 on the low end to $22.06 on the high end. Even the most cautious version of the model, the one that assumes the smallest possible benefit and the highest possible cost, still shows a positive return. That range matters more than the headline number in some ways, because it tells a skeptical benefits committee that this is not a result that only works if every assumption breaks in the program’s favor.
Who the Savings Actually Go To
The benefits did not accrue evenly across society. Sixty-three percent of the estimated savings went to participants and employers, largely through improved productivity and reduced absenteeism. Another 21 percent went to taxpayers, and the remaining 16 percent went to broader society. Over 80 percent of total benefits in the study traced back to productivity gains specifically, which is the piece most directly relevant to an employer weighing whether a relationship program belongs in a benefits package next to more familiar offerings like an EAP or a wellness stipend.
What This Means If You’re Deciding Whether to Fund a Program Like This
For years, the case for funding relationship programs rested mostly on outcome data: couples reported feeling better, individual mental health symptoms improved, and program completion rates looked strong. Those numbers are real, but they speak a different language than the one a finance team or board typically wants to hear. A peer-reviewed cost-benefit study, run through an independent economic model, changes that conversation. It gives a benefits decision-maker a number to bring into a budget meeting that did not come from the vendor pitching the program.
How the Study Handled a Built-In Conflict of Interest
It is worth addressing directly, since a skeptical benefits committee will ask: one of the study’s authors, Dr. Brian Doss, is a coinventor of the OurRelationship program and an equity owner in OurRelationship LLC. That relationship is disclosed in the published paper and is managed through a formal conflict-of-interest plan overseen by the University of Miami. To further separate the economic findings from that relationship, the actual benefit and cost-benefit calculations were conducted by Dr. Alex Dopp, a paid external consultant with no employment or financial relationship with OurRelationship LLC, who also wrote or approved the corresponding sections of the manuscript. That structure, an outside analyst running the numbers under a disclosed and university-supervised plan, is exactly the kind of safeguard a peer-reviewed journal like Family Process requires before publication, and it is part of why this figure carries more weight than an internal company estimate.
FAQs
What did the new OurRelationship study find about cost savings?
Researchers found that every dollar spent delivering the OurRelationship program returned $6.60 in savings, primarily through reduced healthcare costs, less absenteeism, and improved productivity. The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Family Process, used data from two randomized controlled trials rather than internal company estimates.
How much does the OurRelationship program cost per person?
The study calculated a weighted average cost of $280 per individual across the two randomized controlled trials, covering coaching, supervision, customer support, hosting, and equipment. That cost figure came directly from actual program expenditures, not projected or estimated figures.
What is the WSIPP cost-benefit model?
The Washington State Institute for Public Policy model is a nonpartisan economic framework that state and federal governments use to evaluate whether public programs are worth funding. Applying it to OurRelationship meant the program’s economic value was assessed using the same standard used to evaluate large-scale public policy investments.
Do most of the savings from OurRelationship benefit employers?
A large share of the estimated savings, 63 percent, went to participants and employers, primarily through improved productivity and reduced absenteeism. Over 80 percent of total benefits in the study were tied to productivity gains, which is directly relevant to any employer evaluating the program as a benefit.
Is the $6.60 return backed by peer-reviewed research?
Yes. The finding comes from a peer-reviewed study published in Family Process, a respected academic journal, using data from two randomized controlled trials and an independently developed economic model. It is not a marketing estimate or a claim generated internally by OurRelationship.
The Math Now Backs Up What the Outcomes Already Showed
Program outcomes have shown for years that OurRelationship improves relationships and individual functioning. What has been missing until now is an independent answer to the question a finance team actually asks: does this pay for itself. A peer-reviewed cost-benefit study using a model built for government-scale program decisions just answered that question with a $6.60 return for every $1 spent.
If you want to see how this fits into the broader business case, why smart employers are adding relationship benefits is the natural next read. And if you want to review the full body of research behind these numbers before making a decision, our full evidence base has everything you need.
