What, no rows? Is George Clooney right not to argue?

Why can't the dirty plates go straight into the dishwasher? Whose turn is it to pick up the kids? And why do you insist on doing that thing you do when you know how much it annoys me? No honestly, don't worry, I'm fine.

- Esther Addley

Perhaps - if you are part of a long-term couple - that kind of conversation sounds familiar. Or perhaps you are George and Amal Clooney, and you never, ever argue. That, at least, was the actor's boast this week to a US morning show: in almost 12 years of marriage, he said, he and his lawyer wife have never had a single argument. "We're trying to find something to argue about," he joked.

Can it really be possible to commit to someone long enough for the pheromones to wear off and not, every now and then, have a row about money, parenting, or who was supposed to sort the car tax? And even if it is possible - is it healthy? The Clooneys' blissful marriage may be one thing, but for the rest of us, say experts, arguing need not be such a bad thing - so long as we're doing it right.