I really don't have the answer to this.. .i have at various times thought various things, including open marriage/multiple partners is correct.. I guess then what i think is that perhaps it should be down to the two, (or more!) individuals to work out which is best for them.. I guess if I had to choose one it would be that it can be renegotiated every 5 years or so...
I do think that people shouldn't be trapped in unhappy marriages.. but equally i do believe that marriages often fail now because two people aren't always willing to work and compromise to make it work, they walk away rather than try.. treating marriage as disposable.
I agree with a lot of what you said. What spurred my curiosity was that I was looking up divorce rates of millennials and it seems that the group may have a lower divorce rate than previous generations, but it's too early to tell. It may be because so many are waiting longer or because a lot of people who don't like marriage are skipping it, so those who do marry today are in it for the long haul.
alone! And without comfort we assume? Otherwise you are relying upon *generosity* of passing strangers or else you are in a relationship anyway, in which case, in real terms, that's little different to marriage.
I can be in both a monogamous relationship or open relationship but if I had to choose from the list provided.. the multiple partner one. Being in an open relationship requires trust and it doesn't mean you get to sleep around with whoever you want or just go off and be careless with other people. It's still grows out of respect because if you don't have that it won't work. The thing is it's VERY rare that an open relationship would actually work out but if you can find that type of mutual openness it's very likely you'll have partners for life. Plus life is about enjoying multiple things and the moments you have to share with others. Some people can't provide you with "everything" you want.. and that's OK with me because I wouldn't be with people for the materialistic things they provided anyways.
It's funny how almost everything in our lives isn't a lifetime commitment. Then, we expect we're going to marry someone who was a complete stranger to us previously, and it's a forever thing. What else is setup that way, and are we really wired for it?
I think people should have to renew a marriage license just like a driver's license. Of course, the odds of me getting "married" are pretty slim.
I'm in a committed relationship, and we both work to keep the relationship alive. We both feel that once we are married the chance of each taking the other for granted might increase leading to deterioration. We're both happy as we are: in love, but unbound.
tom jackson 