Thursday, January 27, 2011

How Long Does The Average Marriage Last?

My husband and I had been dating for nearly five years when we tied the knot and, even though I can barely remember what I did three days ago, I can still clearly picture nearly every moment of our wedding from 7½ years ago.

And I know everyone talks about how wonderful their wedding day was, but ours truly was magnificent.

Would it be weird if I pulled my wedding dress out of storage and just wore it around the house a little bit? I really loved that dress.

So when I get back in touch with friends that I haven't talked to in a while or connect with someone from high school after all these years and find out that they have gotten divorced, it makes me sad. I wasn't a part of their marriage so of course I don't know what went on and if splitting up was best for everyone involved, but it makes it seem like the growing statistics that can be found online really are true.

How long does an average marriage last? The answers that I find seem to vary immensely, with numbers ranging anywhere from 10 to 24 years, but with the divorce rate rising each year, it does make me wonder if the numbers for couples that go to marriage counseling are also increasing.

Through we've experienced ups and downs over the years, my husband and I have never sought out a counselor, but I would like to think that if we ever got to the point where we weren't able to communicate on our own that we would head to one to help sort out our problems. If talking things through could help reach a better understanding, then it seems as though it would be worth a shot, right?

I feel fortunate that I knew from early on that my husband was "the one" and have never looked back. After all that we have been through and now having two beautiful children together, I know this is one commitment that is definitely worth working on. With Valentine's Day right around the corner and so much talk about love in the air, I guess all anyone can hope for is to spend our lives happy, whether in a relationship or not.

Happy (early) Valentine's Day!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately these days, I don't think the average marriage lasts long...
My husband and I will be married 9 years in March!! We were together a year when we got married!

My parents were married for 13 years then got a divorce. My mom's 2nd marriage lasted 2 years and her 3rd began 5 months ago...

My sister's first marriage lasted a year and she is currently married and has been for 6 years.

Anonymous said...

Marriage has its trying moments that is for sure. It is sad the divorce rate is so high, and unfortunately I'm in that statistic. That being said after all the depression I went through, we sought out help from the experts to get back what we had. We are soulmates, and even though we split our life is 110x better than it was. I don't think people try to work at their marriages like they should and take the "easy" way out. Is that a photo of you and hubby? It's beautiful:)

Texas Type A Mom said...

I always hear about the 7 year itch. I have two close friends that have gotten divorced recently and both of them got divorced at the 7 year mark. I don't know what it is about that number. I'm looking at 10 years in May!!!

dannyscotland said...

From what I've been told, it used to be 7 years was the defining moment (that was how long my mom and dad were married before they were divorced). Then, more recently I heard that 3 years was the turning point (that's how long I was married to my first husband).

Luckily, my husband now is wonderful. Although I didn't find him when I was very young and some of my family plans had to change, I'm so happy to be sharing my life with him now.

Miranda said...

Divorice isn't an option for me. I believe in God's plan for the sanctity of marriage.

lgm52 said...

I enjoyed reading this blog. Unfortunately, too many marriages dissolve after a short time and probably little commitment and effort. My husband and I celebrated our 41st anniversary earlier this month. Life just continues to get better together!

BusyWorkingMama said...

I still whip mine out every now and then, put it on and prance around like the princess that I am. Hopefully both our marriages will be around for decades more.

Jenny said...

We'll be married 10 years in August! We dated for 8 months and were engaged for 8 months.

I am always shocked at the divorce rate too. I think people need to thin more before getting married. Some people seem so immature or irresponsible these days. Of course I'm not talking about all of the divorces here.