Happily Ever After 12631 views

After the shock horror divorce statistics were revealed to us (click here to read more of the nitty gritty) it seems like marriages could be in serious trouble. With nearly half of British marriages likely to end in divorce, the statistics suggest that 50% of these splits will be before couples reach ten years' of marriage.

WeddingPath member, Seona, commented, “It freaked me out a bit …it is a little scary to think the stats are so bad.” Adding, “I know there are long, happy marriages out there, I’m sure we all want to know how to make sure ours is one of those.”

So for the Brides2be and Alreadymarrieds, we have taken a leaf out of the book, literally, with an extract from Just Engaged by Christine E. Murray.

Marriage can be a rewarding process.
Marriage is a big commitment. People often feel scared about what marriage involves. Although marriage involves both positive and negative experiences, the positive experiences can outweigh the negative experiences. You can grow through marriage, and you can support the person you love in his or her growth as well. A number of rewards are available to those couples that remain united in building a strong, supportive marriage.

Marriage is a balance between work and fun.
It takes a lot of work to make a marriage succeed. Marriage is not always easy, but it shouldn’t always be difficult and boring, either. Make your marriage a fun, enjoyable partnership. When marriage becomes less rewarding, recommit to taking pleasure in your partner and in your relationship.

You can make changes in your life and your relationship to enhance your marriage.
You are not destined to repeat the negative relationship patterns from your family-of-origin or your own experiences in past relationships. You can make changes to help your marriage succeed. Recognising a need to make changes in yourself or your relationship doesn’t mean that you acknowledge that there is always room for growth. Continue moving forward in life, while learning lessons from your past experiences.

Your marriage can change.
Your marriage might not turn out to be exactly what you expected. If there is something you do not like about your relationship, you do not need to remain stuck in that pattern for the rest of your relationship. Even couples that seem destined for divorce can manage to shift gears and create a mutually satisfying relationship. You and your partner can work together to create a mutually satisfying marriage, even when things don’t go exactly as planned.

To read the review of Just Engaged click here.

And... romance is not dead!
Check out these comments in the 'Why I Married Him' Forum

Seona: I got in tonight from my football training, sweaty, in my tracksuit, feeling like death. Richard looked at me and said 'you look good', and he wasn't joking! Bless him.
Chucklebum: I got a cold at the mo, red nose, snotty and he told me last night that i was beautiful...
Alanakelk: I have this huge oversized fleece thing that I only wear around the house when I'm cold, my husband hates it because it swamps me (not sexy) he says he's going to burn it, but he still tells me I'm beautiful when I'm lounging around in it without a scrap of make up on.