There you are, at your wedding reception. You’re happy, probably stressed out, in love, a little drunk, looking forward to your honeymoon (you wouldn’t be the first person to see getting married as a price worth paying for a vacation!), and, if you’re like most people, there’s a part of you wondering, Are we going to be happy? Will our marriage work out?
While you’re slammin’ back the champagne, your answer probably is, Hey, we love each other and [insert name of partner] is GREAT, so we’ll be fine.
Yeah, right. Any expert—from a sociologist of marriage to a couples therapist—will tell you this is a terrible answer. It’s nice and everything that you love each other, but this doesn’t separate you from all the people who go on to descend into marital hell who also thought they loved each other and that their partner was great when they started out.
Now let’s say you wandered outside during your reception and came upon a group of friends betting on whether you guys would make it to your 10th anniversary. And let’s say you wanted in on the action. And let’s say you bet all the money people gave you as wedding presents. That’s a lot of money. So you’d want to win the bet, right?
Well, what’s the one thing you’d want to know to determine whether your marriage would make it or not? (more…)