Katharina Buczek
Maintaining a romantic relationship is no easy feat. Nurturing a partnership requires each person to step outside of themselves and work to understand their counterpart.
According to a recent CDC report, divorce rates in the United States have actually gone down year over year since 2000. Now, for every one thousand marriages, the divorce rate is only 2.3.
Still, a “happy marriage” is not always synonymous with “not divorced.” So, one Reddit user was curious about how happy marriages are truly forged.
They asked the Reddit community, “What is your biggest piece of advice for maintaining a relationship?” Most of the responses rested on basic principles of support, communication, and understanding.
“You cannot expect your partner to be a mind reader.”
“This is so important and is something that my husband and I are currently working on. Communicate expectations, be honest about what you care about, and understand the other person’s capabilities. This really alleviates some of the friction between us.”
“My husband and I have been married for fourteen years. Our marriage almost dissolved twice. The first time we went to therapy, and he learned to talk to me. The second time was because neither of us made time to talk to each other.”
“Now, we put our kids to bed, go outside, and just talk. No judgments, no yelling, just honest and open discussion.”
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