As time goes on, fewer people are choosing to get married, more children are born to unmarried parents, and more marriages are ending in divorce than ever before. Getting married, however, is still something that most of us aspire to, even as children, so what are the best reasons to get married?
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1. It Gives Your Relationship Meaning
This is always one of the top reasons cited for couples to get married You may have said ‘I love you’, you may have even said you want to spend your lives together, but marriage just adds another dimension to the relationship, particularly as you have the opportunity to show friends, family and the world how much you are in love. It’s about making a promise to each other, and relationships feel more meaningful and stronger as a result of that promise.
2. You’re More Likely to Make It through the Tough Times
Every couple will face issues in their relationship, whether they are married or not. Married couples are more likely to make it through, though, because they can’t just give up and walk away so easily. Where a boyfriend or girlfriend may walk out and never be seen again, a husband or wife will stay because they can’t just cut their ties so easily. Often, the relationship can be fixed, and you’ll be glad you’re married, but even if it doesn’t work out, at least this way, you’ll know you tried everything you possibly could. It’s also worth noting that married couples are less likely to be involved in domestic violence than cohabiting couples.
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3. Old Age Won’t Be Lonely
Recent studies have shown that one of the most important factors in health, happiness and longevity is having a stable relationship. Because you’re less likely to give up on each other when things get tough if you’re married, you’ll be more likely to have someone by your side in old age than if you remain unmarried. Nobody wants to get old and die alone; everyone really wants to be that couple that have been married for 60 or so years, still holding hands and growing old together.
4. You’ll Have More Security
Marriage is seen as an important social institution, which is why there are tax breaks and other financial incentives to be married. If you’re married, not only will you have your spouse to rely on (emotionally and financially) during difficult times, but there will also be more help on offer from the state. Furthermore, marriage opens up a whole new host of rights that you may not otherwise have, affecting inheritance if your partner dies, and giving fathers more rights to see their children, and mothers more financial support, if you do split up.
5. You Children Will Have Better Relationships
Research shows that men raised by married parents go on to have relationships that are more cooperative, open and affectionate than those raised by divorced or unmarried parents. This is because parents are a child’s most important teacher, and they learn how to behave from what they see around them. People who were not loved as children, for example, often struggle to display love and affection for others, while coming from married parents decreasing the likelihood of children becoming criminals. Getting married and staying married are ultimately two of the best things that you can do for your children, not just during their childhood but for the sake of their future, too, because they will likely repeat your success.
6. They Will Be More Successful, Too
Married parents encourage their children more and have higher expectations for them than single parents. The achievement gap may be partly because a married couple have more time, between them, to devote to their children, but it is also true that dads are more involved in children’s homework than stepdads are, and the most likely children to be straight-A students are those of happily married parents. On the other end of the spectrum, the most disruptive children tend to be born to cohabiting parents and single mothers. Ultimately, your children will be higher achievers at school and in their career if their parents are married, being happier therefore in both their personal and professional life, and children of married mothers have more upward social mobility than those of divorced mothers.
7. Married Partners Are More Faithful
Cohabiting partners are more likely to cheat or have an affair than married couples, so if you want to remain faithful and for your partner to do the same, getting married increases your chances of this. Perhaps it’s that extra commitment that you’ve made to each other that stops people on the brink of making a mistake, or maybe it’s just that nobody wants to be the bad guy in divorce, but marriages are more faithful than other relationships.
8. Surprisingly, You’ll Have More Sex
The stereotypes all tell us that as soon as that ‘honeymoon period’ is over, the sex life of a couple goes into a steep decline. Research says otherwise, however, as a Professor at California State University has found that married people have far more sex than single people. Not only that but married men and women report a higher level of sexual pleasure and fulfillment than cohabiting couples. This would be as good a reason as any to get married for many people, as the misconception that marriage equals a lack of good sex can put many people off the idea.
9. You Love Each Other
The best really has been saved until last, because the best reason you can have for getting married is that you truly love somebody and want to spend the rest of your life with them. At the end of the day, it’s not about the money, or how things will go if you do split up in the future, and it’s not even really about getting hitched for your children: if they’re special and really the right one for you, this reason alone is good enough reason for you to get married.
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