Couples enter counseling with me often with the question, ?Should we live together or get married?? As a psychologist and couples therapist, I have been trained to explore questions first, prior to giving an answer. And the truth is, for this question, I don?t HAVE an answer, though I do have access to a great deal of data and I do have a response.
My response is not focused upon morality, value judgments, or religious beliefs. It is focused on the issue of commitment. So, the really critical question I would ask couples is, what is your commitment in this relationship? The commitment of ?living together? is much different than the commitment of marriage.
The commitment of ?living together? is generally speaking really not that much about commitment. It?s about, ?let?s see if we can get along together before we make a commitment.? Some refer to it as a ?trial marriage.? It really is a much different commitment than marriage for the majority of people. Of course, there are exceptions to this, yet I?m speaking ?in general.?
Marriage is about making the commitment to building a life with this person, whether you like them every day or not, whether they are in a good mood every day or not, whether they meet your needs every day or not.
It is about seeing the ?big picture,? about remembering why you are together for the long haul, even when the day-to-day ride is bumpy. It is about what you choose to give to the relationship, much more than about what you expect to receive. It is about working through the problems that come up, because you remember that you made a commitment.
And honestly, nothing can prepare you for the commitment of marriage, for the commitment to the long haul, to ?forever,? whatever forever means in this world. The concept of the ?trial marriage? is statistically proven to be a poor indicator of marriage success.
The majority of cohabitators either breakup or marry within two years. The risk of divorce after living together is 40 to 85% higher than the risk of divorce after not living together. Those who live together before marriage are almost twice as likely to divorce than those who do not live together.
Why is this? There are many theories about it. Personally, I feel there are a few pieces to it. First of all, most of us are not perfect, we have some flaws, we have fears, we have parts of ourselves we hide from the world, parts we are not proud of, that cause us some amount of shame. We have varying degrees of doubt as to our self-worth, our desirability, our ?love-ability.? This may be conscious or unconscious.
And often, these deeper issues don?t come up in a living together situation, or if they do, not as strongly as when the commitment to marriage is made. Only then will our psyches feel safe enough to let down our guard, lower our defenses and let our ?dark side? come out fully. And often, only then is our partner prepared to face and accept this side of us, without turning and running in the other direction. This is where a strong commitment is needed.
The second piece, I think is the fact that we as humans are truly creatures of habit. And when we live together with someone, we develop certain habits of relating and certain mindsets. Certain habits of communicating, certain habits of being. Often, we develop habits of ?me? and ?you? and ?mine? and ?yours.? And we develop habits of ?my way.? And we develop mindsets of ?I?m right and you?re wrong? and ?it?s your fault.? And those are really difficult to change, once we marry and commit to ?forever.?
Conversely (and ideally), when we make the commitment to marriage without the habits of living together, we build up habits of ?us,? of ?the partnership,? of ?together forever? and we might work a little harder to sustain these habits. We might look more to ourselves and what we are doing to make our situation better or worse and take more responsibility for it. Each day is spent building this foundation, so that when challenging times come, as they will, we are prepared to meet them from strength, from partnership.
The final piece, which may speak more to the statistics, is that perhaps a percentage of the people who choose to live together, do so, because they are not prepared or capable of making a stronger commitment like that of marriage.
So, like all couples, the ball is in your court. It?s not good or bad to decide to live together or to decide to get married. It is an important decision though. If it becomes too difficult to reach a choice that is consistent with what you want, you might want to consider seeking support from a counselor or therapist.
I wish you the best,
Dr. Adam Sheck
Dr. Adam Sheck, ?The Passion Doctor? is a Clinical Psychologist and Couples Counselor and creator of the Passion 101 Website and Blog. In it you will find ideas and suggestions to help you have more passion, more romance, more sensuality, and more intimacy in your relationship.
Free Special Report: ?20 Rituals For Romance!? at http://freepassiontips.com
What?s your most important question about Relationships, Romance, Intimacy or Sexuality? Ask Dr. Sheck at http://www.askadamnow.com and find out how he answers these questions at his free monthly Teleseminars.
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