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Are Most Marriages Really Based On Love Or Convenience

makkam

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Do you believe most marriages today are based on Love or Convenience?

Most people grow up surrounded by people and things that define the ideals of true love. So you grow up expecting to find that perfect person. I am an outsider looking in as I am not married, but I wonder if people are really in love or whether they kind of settled for the next best thing. Talking to some people, it seems like they are not as much in love as they are very familiar and comfortable with the person. With other people, it seems like the marriage is one more of convenience than real love. Some people, I think, not wanting to face disillusionment, try to act as if they are in love but seem more like a circle and a triangle trying to click. Made me wonder.
 
Some people just want to grow up. Marriage will do that for ya.

I married because I wanted a wife. I had been in love before without wanting to marry.
 
Do you believe most marriages today are based on Love or Convenience?

Most people grow up surrounded by people and things that define the ideals of true love. So you grow up expecting to find that perfect person. I am an outsider looking in as I am not married, but I wonder if people are really in love or whether they kind of settled for the next best thing. Talking to some people, it seems like they are not as much in love as they are very familiar and comfortable with the person. With other people, it seems like the marriage is one more of convenience than real love. Some people, I think, not wanting to face disillusionment, try to act as if they are in love but seem more like a circle and a triangle trying to click. Made me wonder.

I doubt it can be neatly divided into categories.

I love my wife dearly, she loves me dearly. We both love our children dearly. However, it has come to light recently that I very likely has Aspergers Syndrome (as well as our oldest child) and my wife can't help but wonder "what if" since obviously nobody wants to learn that they have an insufficient spouse and nothing can be done about it (If I do have it, I am very high functioning as I don't have the OCD tendancies, but I do have difficulties in processing emotional information from other people, a terrible time adapting to changes in routine, endless scripts for social behavior in my head, I am not as obsessive about specific subjects that I used to be (but I think thats because I have kids and limited me time and I fulfill me need for control over my life in other ways), I never make eye contact, sensory overload issues, and other symptoms, I am probably going to go in for a proper diagnosis in a few months, so I won't say for certain at this time).

Anyway, she is wondering "what if" because her life could have been very different, even though she loves me, she now believes that there will always be certain needs that I cannot fulfill. However, it is a combination of her love for me (and my love for her) and our loves for the kids. However, to be taken into consideration is the fact that I can provide for her and the family, and she doesn't have to work for us to make ends meet. I can perhaps provide perspective on what our oldest boy is going through and I can even reach things on the top shelf. Also relevant is the fear that she may end up alone. (not that I am looking for sympathy, this is something everyone feels and goes through with relationships. There are practical as well as emotional considerations)

Love helps a relationship, but so does the other skills we can bring to the table.
 
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I heard marriage is like murder--two essential elements, motive and opportunity.
 
"A man isn't complete until he's married. Then, he's finished."

-Zha Zha Gabor
 
I doubt it can be neatly divided into categories.

I love my wife dearly, she loves me dearly. We both love our children dearly. However, it has come to light recently that I very likely has Aspergers Syndrome (as well as our oldest child) and my wife can't help but wonder "what if" since obviously nobody wants to learn that they have an insufficient spouse and nothing can be done about it (If I do have it, I am very high functioning as I don't have the OCD tendancies, but I do have difficulties in processing emotional information from other people, a terrible time adapting to changes in routine, endless scripts for social behavior in my head, I am not as obsessive about specific subjects that I used to be (but I think thats because I have kids and limited me time and I fulfill me need for control over my life in other ways), I never make eye contact, sensory overload issues, and other symptoms, I am probably going to go in for a proper diagnosis in a few months, so I won't say for certain at this time).

Anyway, she is wondering "what if" because her life could have been very different, even though she loves me, she now believes that there will always be certain needs that I cannot fulfill. However, it is a combination of her love for me (and my love for her) and our loves for the kids. However, to be taken into consideration is the fact that I can provide for her and the family, and she doesn't have to work for us to make ends meet. I can perhaps provide perspective on what our oldest boy is going through and I can even reach things on the top shelf. Also relevant is the fear that she may end up alone. (not that I am looking for sympathy, this is something everyone feels and goes through with relationships. There are practical as well as emotional considerations)

Love helps a relationship, but so does the other skills we can bring to the table.

Wow. When I read the list of symptoms, it kinda sounded like me a little, but I don't think there's anything wrong with me. Were there really any big problems before the doctors diagnosis? Either way, certainly, real love can help a relationship. My question was more along the lines of how many relationships are actually based on real love.

Still, you're situation is both which kinda says that though love may exist, the realistic need for mutual gain or benefit from the situation must be present to a satisfying degree. From the outside looking in, sounds like you might be the lucky one, but people always say that don't they.
 
Honestly?

First marriages involving people under 25 are usually based on a combination of lust, infatuation, romantic illusions and fantasies, and unrealistic expectations. Oh yeah, and maybe true love. Sometimes they even work out.

Most second marriages, or marriages involving people over 30, are based more on liking each other well enough that you think you can live together, and the notion that the union will be mutually beneficial in various ways. Most of these folks wince when they hear the phrase "True love", because they have a hard time believing in it anymore... even though they secretly hope that their marriage-of-like turns into True Love over time. Sometimes this even works out.

I'd finish with a link to Sam Kinison, but I've done that so often I'll just save bandwidth this time and figure you know what I mean. :mrgreen:
 
Marriages shouldn't be based on love. Love is an emotional state that should result from the devotion, respect, and trust that marriage should be based on.

"True love" isn't falling in love with the one perfect person you can happily spend the rest of your life with, it's spending the rest of your life making someone happy.
 
I've been married to the same women for 42 years and convenience was never a consideration. We were in love and remain in love,that's all we had to offer each other. We are also great friends and we've been truly blessed. We dated for 4 years before we decided to get married.
 
I've been married to the same women for 42 years and convenience was never a consideration. We were in love and remain in love,that's all we had to offer each other. We are also great friends and we've been truly blessed. We dated for 4 years before we decided to get married.

I believe it exists, but I think the chances of it a very rare.

Honestly?

First marriages involving people under 25 are usually based on a combination of lust, infatuation, romantic illusions and fantasies, and unrealistic expectations. Oh yeah, and maybe true love. Sometimes they even work out.

Most second marriages, or marriages involving people over 30, are based more on liking each other well enough that you think you can live together, and the notion that the union will be mutually beneficial in various ways. Most of these folks wince when they hear the phrase "True love", because they have a hard time believing in it anymore... even though they secretly hope that their marriage-of-like turns into True Love over time. Sometimes this even works out.

I'd finish with a link to Sam Kinison, but I've done that so often I'll just save bandwidth this time and figure you know what I mean. :mrgreen:

LOL. Dude, EXACTLY how I imagined it, but you did a much better job explaining it. I think that's why all those romance books and magazines sell. People don't have that dream they've been told about and those books keep holding it out in front of them like a carrot in front of the horse. And yeah, I think I've seen- and experienced- when something resembling actual love is actually witnessed, some couples tend to get suddenly uncomfortable.
 
I believe it exists, but I think the chances of it a very rare.



LOL. Dude, EXACTLY how I imagined it, but you did a much better job explaining it. I think that's why all those romance books and magazines sell. People don't have that dream they've been told about and those books keep holding it out in front of them like a carrot in front of the horse. And yeah, I think I've seen- and experienced- when something resembling actual love is actually witnessed, some couples tend to get suddenly uncomfortable.


Yup. Just bear in mind as I said: "Sometimes this even works out."

It does, sometimes. My parents were a pretty good example. They were married for almost sixty years. It wasn't all roses... they had their fights, sometimes even loud ones that involved slamming doors and screetching tires.
They loved each other though. Sometimes, even into their 50's and 60's, they were so lovey-dovey in public and private that it was embarassing.

When my Dad was 78 and became unable to take care of himself, my Mom waited on him hand and foot, 24/7, for a year. I could write a book on what all she went through taking care of him, to the very day he died. She broke her health; she was never the same again, and only outlived him by six years. She brushed off the idea of remarrying, saying that my Dad was the only man she'd ever loved or ever wanted, and she would have no other.

These days we all laugh at marriage, and make fun of it. Yet we keep doing it... Why? Because once in a while, something beautiful is created that lasts a lifetime... and beyond.
 
I think theres a good combination of both of those out there. My first marriage was (im ashamed to admit) a marriage based more on convenience. I needed out of the house, he had money to be able to take care of me, he was a nice guy who I knew wouldnt hurt me. That didnt last. My second marriage was based on love... but it was based on more than that ... My husband is my best friend. We are a lot alike, but different in ways that each of us needs from the other, we have great communication, and we both work hard to make sure we take care of the others needs and try to make each other happy. We fight and have disagreements like any other married couple, but there is no one in this world I would rather go through this crazy ass life with!!!

My grandparents were married most of their lives, married at right around eighteen. My grandma died due to complications from a car accident. My grandfather went from a man who was roofing bldgs and working outdoors all of the time, to a man who could barely walk. He died five months after she did. Its the first time I have ever seen anyone die of a "broken heart". They had their issues, and they had some mighty big ones, but they loved each other with everything they had, and when she was gone, he just had no reason to keep going without her.
 
A good read would be "Committed" by Elizabeth Gilbert, the same woman who wrote "Eat, Pray, Love". I've not read it yet (my to read list is SO long!) but as I understand the reviews she goes over the history of marriage. It includes where siblings were married to preserve family treasure.

So marriage is what it is and is so many things. It can be either or even both. And it comes in many flavors, including religious and civil, which are similar but not the same and can often be combined.....much like ice cream!
 
My opinion is too biased and jaded, so I'll refrain from giving it.
 
Marriages shouldn't be based on love. Love is an emotional state that should result from the devotion, respect, and trust that marriage should be based on.

"True love" isn't falling in love with the one perfect person you can happily spend the rest of your life with, it's spending the rest of your life making someone happy.

it's both. first you fall in love, then you deepen that love.
 
Honestly, marriage made more sense when it was an institution of sexism and/or fiscal convenience.

Which isn't to say that was right. I'm well and glad those days are over. But today, marriage is based on making a promise without knowing if you'll be able to keep it: to love someone forever.

Realistically, that's just not really in human nature. That's why divorce rates have been so high since the re-birth of marriage as an institution of love. Long-term relationships and semi-monogamy are in human nature, but strict, life-long monogamy? No, not really. It happens. That's wonderful, if it suits you. But far more frequently it ends in divorce, or in a broken marriage that is continued either because of the inconvenience of ending it or a fear of the unknown.

I'm really careful about promises. I don't make a promise I'm not 110% sure I can keep. I am not going to make a promise of what my emotional state will be in 50 years. That's ridiculous.

I think Goshin is correct that what marriages are based on tends to vary by age. But in this day and age, I really don't see the logic of it for any reason apart from the benefits.
 
But today, marriage is based on making a promise without knowing if you'll be able to keep it: to love someone forever.

Maybe not so much anymore. Notice how people are making new vows on their own, leaving things out like, "to love *and obey*" and "till death do you part"? I think it's starting to shift to some more reasonable thinking in those promises.
 
I love my boyfriend and we plan to marry in the next few years. We're not doing it just because we love one another. As they say, "love doesn't pay the bills". We work well together, we have relatable financial plans and management techniques, we compliment each other in terms of the skills we bring to the relationship. We've lived together for three years and are both dependent upon what we've built together. If something were to happen to either of us, marriage offers us legal protections we don't current have. Right now, if he were arrested or severely injured, I have no access to his accounts to maintain them (utilities excepted). His bank will not allow me on the account unless we're married, and neither will mine. I can technically pay on his car, but I have no ownership rights to it. I can't make any decisions in a medical emergency for him, and he can't for me, either. Things like that make marriage convenient or practical. Love makes it fun and entertaining.
 
Do you believe most marriages today are based on Love or Convenience?

Most people grow up surrounded by people and things that define the ideals of true love. So you grow up expecting to find that perfect person. I am an outsider looking in as I am not married, but I wonder if people are really in love or whether they kind of settled for the next best thing. Talking to some people, it seems like they are not as much in love as they are very familiar and comfortable with the person. With other people, it seems like the marriage is one more of convenience than real love. Some people, I think, not wanting to face disillusionment, try to act as if they are in love but seem more like a circle and a triangle trying to click. Made me wonder.

People today, at least younger people, are in too much of a hurry to do anything, including get married and fall in love. The thing is, you can't rush love. There is no such thing as he perfect person. There are only relationships that hit rocky spots and both parties realize that they want to work through it. That may be because they love each other and that may be because they feel secure, but doesn't love provide security anyway?
 
Realistically, that's just not really in human nature. That's why divorce rates have been so high since the re-birth of marriage as an institution of love.

Most divorces happen around 3-7 years with 3-4 years being with the most occurrences ,so loving someone forevrrrrr or strict long-life monogamy being against human nature don't seem to be the problem here,unless you mean its against human nature to love someone more then 3 years?the that will put a huge hole in your alternative theory that its human nature instead to form long-term semi monogamous relationship because 3-7 years are neither strict long-life monogamy nor a terribly long time to love someone. Third the high divorce rate are more to do with divorce being far more accessible and culturally acceptable today then about love marriages.Fourth breakups are far more complex then ur reductionist reasons .The top reason for divorces are jumping into marriage for wrong reason ,infedility ,However,as been shown extensively , usually there is an underlying reason that causes a spouse to cheat including anger, resentment, having varied interests, growing apart, or unequal sexual appetites.Weight Gain:Surprisingly enough, "forever after" often comes with the caveat "as long as you maintain your figure.Money,Lack of Communication,and physical and emotional abuse.Incompatibility:Nothing stays the same. Over time people grow, develop, and change. Sometimes, individual growth can mean that growing apart from their spouse. When parties lives, interests, or dreams become incompatible, the marriage can begin to suffer as a result. Incompatibility can also lead to a spouse seeking interaction with a person of the opposite sex, which can lead to infidelity.unhappiness:Unhappiness lies at the root of a high number of divorces. Sometimes individuals don't realize that love in and of itself is not enough to keep you happy. Also, some people get married, and then realize that they are not cut out for
marriage.Addiction,age:According to a study published by the Wharton school at Pennsylvania University, cites the age at which a couple gets married playing a role in the likelihood of their divorce. Couples that get married at a young age often deal with money issues, lack of maturity, lack of communication, and issues that develop from growing apart.Parenting Style Differences:parenting is an even larger undertaking than getting married. Once children come into the picture, priorities change, lifestyles change, and for sure sleeping habits. According to Attorney Jeff Biddle, differences in parenting styles is a major reason couples seek divorce.Falling out of love,which usually has complex underlying reason :They stopped communicating. Conflict went unresolved, needs went unexpressed, and affirmations went unspoken. They took each other for granted. It’s easy to assume that love is unconditional and to subsequently get lazy with each other. When respect and kindness disappear, so can the love.Expectations weren't met. In the beginning, it’s easy to accommodate your partner’s needs and wishes. Over time, however, people often default to “just being themselves” and stop bending to the expectations of their partner if those expectations are not shared ones. One of them discovered something new about his/her partner. Betrayal can radically alter how someone feels about their partner. Discovering that your partner has hidden something from you, cheated on you, or behaved in a way that’s inconsistent with who you thought they were can do irreparable damage to the relationship. Overwhelming jealousy took over,when jealousy takes over, there’s no room for trust. The relationship wasn't built on a solid foundation. If the relationship started poorly, moved too fast in the beginning, or was the product of an affair, it’s likely not rooted enough to withstand time or overcome any real relationship obstacles. Incompatibility. As a couple gets to know one another better — and the initial fireworks die down — they may discover that their lifestyles, priorities, and values don’t align. Boredom. Or exhaustion. The relationship has either lost its spark or become too much work for one or both people to handle.A major life event changed things. She’s given birth and he no longer sees her as a lover, just as a mother. He got fired and suddenly retreats into depression and refuses her help. Instead of embracing life’s adventures together, some couples crack under the pressures of hardships or the unknown.It wasn't love in the first place. Lust can disguise itself as love. Once the honeymoon is over, however, it can also leave a relationship feeling empty and lacking.So humans are not wired with a love gas that fades in the long term.We don't see humans having issues with loving their children ,friends and family forever do we?its just that with romantic relationships there are far more complexities,expectations and challenges that can hinder the growth of love.
 
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