Countdown to Blast Off!

Photo by: mae.noelle

It’s official!  Before contracting the seven-year itch, one must first get through the three-year glitch.

According to a recent British study of 2,000 adults in steady relationships, couples start taking each other for granted after thirty-six months.

The wife thinks one more potato chip won’t make a difference and gains five pounds.  The husband assumes his dirty socks are part of the bedroom decor and leaves them strewn all over the floor.

She burps, and he farts.  The romance has vaporized, and they have sex once in a blue moon.

It’s true here, as well.  CNN, Fox, CBS, etc. – they all covered the study when the report was released.

And it might not even take three years to fall out of love, or, at least, to become disillusioned by one’s beloved.   Of the four situations when infidelity is most likely to occur during a relationship, the first is after the first year of togetherness.

Here’s more statistics.  Twenty percent of U.S. marriages will dissolve within five years, according to the Centers for Disease Control.  One in three marriages will dissolve within ten years.

The average length of marriage has been slowly falling.  Thirty years ago couples were together for thirty-seven years; today, data shows that the average marriage only lasts for twenty-four years.

First marriages, which end in divorce, last eight years on average.  Second and third marriages are even shorter.  This is despite the fact that seven out of ten adults believe marriage should last forever, or so they claim.

Want to beat the odds?  Consultants say one of the best things to do is talk to each other.  However, beware the partner who says, “Let’s take a break.”  That pretty much means it’s over — with or without the fireworks.

© 2011 Susan Marg – All Rights Reserved