The wife that wins all arguments with her husband is not wise. The home is not a law court. The wife that uses sex as a weapon in the home – placing embargo, going to bed in jeans shorts and trousers – lacks wisdom. The wife that uses the modern trends

1. The wife that wins all arguments with her husband is not wise. The home is not a law court. 
2. The wife that uses sex as a weapon in the home - placing embargo, going to bed in jeans shorts and trousers - lacks wisdom. 
3. The wife that uses the modern trends and laws of "women's rights" to insult or ridicule her husband simply makes a fool of herself. 
4. A woman that makes her home devoid of peace through bickering, nagging and quarrels needs help. A man should be eager to run away from office to be at home, for that should be the safest and cosiest place on earth for him. 
5. Modern-day equality in marriage does not mean competition. It simply means partnership. Taking advantage of such equality to turn around and become the de facto head of the home and oppress the man is tantamount to playing with fire. If you destroy your home, soon you will be the boss of an empty home. 
6. A wise wife makes the man feel so good that he assumes that he is the head. Once he gets that feeling, the woman gently wields her power and the head actually turns to wherever the neck wants without a protest. 
7. A wife that does not pull herself away from friends' influence and advice or even from the control of her mother and father will have herself to blame. 
8. When a man is looking for a wife, he bypasses women of different shapes and sizes to choose a wife. But soon after childbirth, many women hide under the excuse of childbirth to let go of themselves. Many stop bothering about their looks, shape, dressing, etc.

Within 5 years of marriage, people start wondering if the wife is the man's aunt, even though she is 7 years younger. Her defence is that if he truly loves her, he should love her the way she is, but when looking for a wife, he saw people like the present YOU and ignored them and settled for the former YOU. Today, you go to bed smelling of onions.... You go to bed wearing grandmothers' clothes. Why are you playing with your marriage? Love is not about looks - we know. But looks enhances love and marriage. There is a difference between someone disfiguring herself and the person being disfigured by an accident.

Please don't be complacent. As hard as it may be, work on looking like you were when he first saw you and began the chase. 
9. If every night you are tired, sleepy, sore, down with headache or fever, "not in the mood," you are a joker, a serious comedian! 
10. If your children suddenly become more important to you than your husband, you need prayers. 
11. If you assume that as the woman, only you need to be pampered and fussed over while the man is a stone that has no emotions, you need to be pitied.12. A woman that has the mind of a wife does not excite her husband. Wives are usually complacent and presumptuous. A wife must strive to have the mind of a girlfriend. A girlfriend is always nicer, sweeter, more loving and always thinking of ways to wow her sweetheart; a girlfriend does not try to win all arguments, does not call the man a "useless man", is not careless about her looks or dressing, always smiles and laughs with the man, sends the man sweet messages and calls, etc. Are you your husband's girlfriend in word and in deed?

WORDS FROM A FATHER TO A SON ABOUT MARRIAGE

1. My son, if you keep spending on a woman and she never asked you if you’re saving or investing, and she keeps enjoying the attention, don’t marry her.

2. My son, a woman could be a good wife to you, some could be a good mother to your children but if you’ve found a woman like a mother to you, your children and your family, please don’t let her go.

3. My son, don’t confine the position of your wife to the kitchen, where did you get that from? Even in our days, we had farm-lands where they worked every morning . . . that was our office.

4. My son, if I tell you that you’re the head of the house, don’t look at your pocket; look if you will see a smile on your wife’s face.

5. My son, if you want to have a long life, let your wife be in-charge of your salary, it will be difficult for her to spend it when she’s aware of the home needs and bills to pay but if it’s in your care, she will keep you asking even when all has been spent.

6. My son, don’t ever beat your woman, the pain in her body is nothing to be compared to the wound on her heart and that means you may be in trouble living with a wounded woman.

7. My son, now that you’re married, if you live a bachelor kind of life with your wife, you will soon be single again.

8. My son, in our days, we had many wives and many children because of our large farm-lands and many harvests, there are hardly any land for farming anymore, so embrace your woman closely.

9. My son, under the cocoa tree that I did meet your mother could be your eateries and restaurants of nowadays, but remember, the closet thing we did there was to embrace each other.

10. My son, don’t be carried away when you start making more money, instead of spending on those tiny legs that never knew how hard you worked to get it, spend it on that woman that stood by you all along.

11. My son, when I threw little stones or whistled at the window of your mother father’s house, to call her out, it was not for sex, it was because I missed her so much.

12. My son, remember, when you say your wife has changed, there could be something you’ve stopped doing too.

13. My son, your mother, Asake rode the bicycle with me before I bought that tortoise car outside there, any woman that won’t endure with you in your little beginning should not enjoy your riches.

14. My son, don’t compare your wife to any woman, there are ways she’s enduring you too and has she ever compared you to any man?

15. My son, there is this thing you people call feminism, well, if a woman claim to have equal right with you in the house, divide all the bills into two equal parts, take one part and ask her to start paying the other part.

16. My son, I met your mother a virgin and I took more yams to her father, if you don’t meet your wife a virgin, don’t blame her, what I didn’t tell you is that our women had prestige.

17. My son, I didn’t send your sisters to school because I was foolish like many to think a female child won’t extend my family name, please don’t make that mistake, the kind of female achievers I see nowadays has made the male-gender an ordinary tag.

18. My son, your mother have once locked up the cloth I was wearing and almost tore it because she was angry, I did not raise my hand to beat her because of a day like this, so that I can be proud to tell you that I never for once beat your mother.

19. My son, in our days, our women had more of natural beauty, though I wouldn’t lie to you, some had minor painting of their appellation mostly on their arms, the ones you people now call tattoo, but don’t forget that they didn’t expose any part of their body like your women of nowadays.

20. My son, your mother and I are not interested in what happens in your marriage, try to handle issues without always coming to us.

21. My son, remember I bought your mother’s first sewing machine for her, help your wife achieve her dreams just as you’re pursuing yours.

22. My son, don’t stop taking care of me and your mother, it’s a secret of growing old and having children to take care of you too.

23. My son, pray with your family, there is a tomorrow you don’t know, talk to God that knows everything, everyday.

10 Good Reasons to Save Sex Until Marriage

Purity and chastity seem to be virtues that have gone out of fashion. The crisis of values ​​has led many young people to see sex as the center of their dating relationship. Sexually active men are considered "winners" and women "experienced," while someone who saves him or herself in chastity is taken to be a prude, sexually incapable, or repressed by the Church. However, the reality is completely the opposite. Let's take a look at 10 reasons to promote sexual abstinence among our youth.

1. It promotes good communication in dating. When a couple practices abstinence, their communication is good because they are not just focused on pleasure but on the joy of sharing their views and experiences; moreover, their conversations are deeper. By contrast, physical intimacy is an easy way to relate, but it overshadows other forms of communication. It is a way of avoiding the real work involved in emotional intimacy, like talking about deep personal issues and working on the basic differences between the two of you.

2. The friendship in your relationship grows. Physical closeness can lead teenagers think they are emotionally close, when in fact they are not. A romantic relationship essentially consists in cultivating a friendship, and there is no friendship without conversation and shared interests. Personal conversation creates friendships and helps us to discover one another and get to know the other's qualities and flaws. Some young people are driven by passion, and when they get to know each other more deeply, they end up disenchanted. And they did not get to know each other because they never got to be friends; instead, they were "friends with benefits."

3. There is a better relationship with both sets of parents. When men and women respect each other, their love matures and improves their friendship with both sets of parents. Generally, parents prefer their unmarried children to live lives of sexual continence, and they are concerned if they know their children are sexually active without being married. When a couple knows they have to hide their sexual relations, their guilt and stress grow. Couples who decide to wait relate more amicably with their own parents and with their beloved's parents.

4. You feel more free to question whether you should continue the relationship. Sexual relationships have the power to strongly unite two people, and can prolong an unhealthy relationship based on physical attraction or the need for security. A person may feel "trapped" in a relationship that they would like to end, but they can't find their way out.  A person who is not having sex can more easily break the emotional bond to the other, because there has not been such powerful intimacy on the physical level. Moreover, if the woman gets pregnant, both partners do not feel as free to decide to get separated, get married, go to work, and so on.

5. It encourages generosity instead of selfishness. Sexual relations in dating can lead to selfishness and a focus on self-satisfaction. They can lead people to feel like they are competing with others whom their partner may find more attractive. It fosters insecurity and selfishness, because when you get sexually intimate, the tendency is to ask for more and more.

6. There is less risk of physical or verbal abuse. Sex outside of marriage is associated with violence and other forms of abuse. For example, there is more than twice the physical aggression among couples living together without any commitment than among married couples. There is less jealousy and less selfishness in dating couples who decide to postpone sexual activity than in those who are driven by passion.

7. It increases the repertoire of ways to show affection. The couple who practices abstinence finds new ways to show affection; they must use inventiveness and ingenuity to have a good time and to demonstrate their interest in each other. The relationship becomes stronger as they have more opportunities to get to know each other's character and habits, and learn the ways to maintain the relationship.

8. The couple is more likely to succeed in marriage. Research has shown that couples who have cohabited are more likely to divorce than those who have not cohabited.

9. If you decide to break off the relationship, it will hurt less. The ties that sexual activity forms bind us strongly to the other person, so if there is a break-up, the resulting pain is more intense. When you have not been physically intimate and decide to break up, the separation is less devastating.

10. Most importantly, you'll feel better about yourself. Sexually active adolescents often lose their self-esteem and admit that they live with guilt. When they decide to let go of physical intimacy, they feel new and grow as people. They enhance their intellectual, artistic, and social potential as they put all that creative energy into developing their talents.

Marriage proposal that Sent A Lady under the table (Photos, Video)

Whenever i remember a quote about getting married by Nick Cave , which saysGetting married, for me, was the best thing I ever did. I was suddenly beset with an immense sense of release, that we have something more important than our separate selves, and that is the marriage. There's immense happiness that can come from working towards that, then i know Love is so beautiful!
However , Wedding photographer, Soji Oni has just shared a short video clip of a surprise wedding proposal that made the bride-to-be, Ayo, hide under the table.
Her hubby-to-be, Tunde took her by surprise....lol...but it was fun all d way.
See some photos we were to screen grab from the video and the video itself below:











YOU CAN WATCH THE VIDEOhttp://instagram.com/p/yJlVEWlixD/?modal=true]

Please How Can My Friend Cope With A Chronic Unrepetant Cheating Husband

My friend has been married for a year now. Although during the courtship I warned her about her husband. That everybody knows him as a chronic flirt. They were both in different states. But she still went ahead. And now they are married and she has been miserable since the first day of the wedding. My eyes saw the unspeakable on their wedding day. In fact the husband is so immature and proud. No respect for her family. And he displayed it on the wedding day. Well I kept mute cos he didn't disappoint me in the character aspect as I heard they were already married and what God has joined together let no one put asunder. That was when my friend began to regret the marriage but it was late. 

Fast forward to two months after the wedding, the husband started keeping women outside d home. My friend couldn't tell anyone but she confided in me. I tried to encourage her. Now it's has turned to the worst. 
My friend travelled for a while for treatment and the husband wouldn't call and for days. When she calls, his phone was usually busy sometimes and he won't call back. The next morning she calls and he will bluntly say he was asleep or tired.

then during Easter they travelled down to their hometown, then she noticed some changes. Out of curiosity, she checked his phone. My friend got the shocker of her life. He has been travelling to meet his girlfrnd in another state and other girls. He sends them money, he doesn't call his wife pet names but called the girlfriend all kinds of pet names. And he really downgraded my friend in the chat, that her sex was so disappointing and even went ahead to laugh at his wife that she wasnt virgin when he met her and a virgin was even better. He was referred his wife as "that girl" to his mistress. The girl never forced him to marry her.He was the one that told her he will marry her. This is some one that do ask the guy how her intimacy life is and he would say it us fine by him. When it comes to hygiene I rate my friend 9/10. We schooled and served together. 

She confronted her husbad. He could not apologize instead he blamed her for going through his phone. And says she is a baby. You knew she was a baby and still married her. That she doesn't act her age. I know that is wrong. My friend is so mature even by the way she handles his infidelity. When the reverse is the case. How can you claim to love a woman and then you downgrade her. Everyday you make cry and yet he passes by like the she means nothing. 

Imagine they had a huge fight now night and in d process. He hit her. She was upset and called her mum and told he mum about his infidelity, the husband replied and said d prostitutes are better than her. My friend called me the next morning and was crying. I live far from her so I couldn't visit her

recently, she told me about the frequent night calls he makes while he is in d parlour and she was in d bed. She decided to trace the call through the help of a friend. Got the number, lo and behold it's the same mistress which she found out sometime ago.

She told me sometimes she may just need cuddling and not intimacy at night and he will just ignore her. No hugs, no kisses, no play time as couples. My ears have heard a lot.whenever I call her she sounds depressed and most times break down in tears over the phone. Sometimes she pings me and tell me she is depressed.I knew her ex and they were perfect just that parents were not in support of the relationship. 

She told me this morning she was tired of the marriage. I tried to encourage her that he may stay. But on a second thought. Why will u be unhappy in a marriage and decide to stay while the unrepentant cheat is happy with the other women. The worst is that he doesn't even care and is quick to tell her she can leave. I know the guy in question well and he comes from a single parent-home so he doesn't know what it means to be a family. This hurt me. Other people warned her about this. What pains are more is that she had to fight to ensure he was accepted by her family and now the person she fought for has turned her to a filth.

I still keep asking her what drew you closer to this guy in the first place. Her reply was that wheneva she came to visit and probably makes a mistake in the cooking, that he corrects her nicely and made her laugh with jokes. And she wasn't aware of his cheating skills.that she thought people were just talking. Now d scales are off and things are upside down.

I forgot to add this. The husband thinks as long as he provides for her and the family, she should not complain when he keeps his mistress.   I know marriage isn't a bed full of roses. Am married as well but my husband doesn't disrespect me d way he does to her. This should also serve as a warning to the single. Please know ur spouses well before you say "I do". Your future happiness depends on that decison. Please advice my bestie because she is depressed. Ways to handle a cheating partner
I am dropping off now cause I need head for home from work..

A Cheating Husband Is Not The Worst Thing That Can Happen In Marriage

Coming from a pseudo-feminist, it shouldn't be all that alarming.

I was reading a thread yesterday about a young women who tried to commit suicide because she found out her supposedly perfect husband was cheating on her. If she were my kid Sis, I'd have dashed her free slap for that stupidity. This same lady was just justifying her husband's actions when after an argument he pushed her so her hard she banged her head on the edge of a glass table (in the risk of a permanent head injury). This same lady condoned and even justified her husband hating her OWN mother for the flimsy reason that she made some strong recommendations while they were planning their wedding. And suddenly she finds out her husband had a plethora of runs girls at his beck and call, and she overdosed on pills! You've got to be kidding me!

Now, I know my opinion on cheating males is going to be hugely unpopular amongst the female folks in the house (especially the married ones who for some reason think their life's happiness is tied to their spouse's fidelity). I'm also not making excuse for the male folks for cheating, I'm just trying to be realistic about this society. For some reason, men cheat. Most men infact. The sooner women realise this, the happier marriages will be. Sex is not love. To men especially (and me too) sex is just a function that can stand on it's own independent of love and even affection. It's like eating. 

Don't be 100% sure that your husband is not cheating or will not cheat on you. That will be living in a fools paradise my dear. It has nothing to do with how pure or holy you were growing up. let's lower our expectations as far as marriage is concerned, and I bet you you'll have a happier and fulfilled marriage.

Or you can always choose not to get married. Divorce is also an option.

Yeah, Yeah I know about the bringing another woman into the house or infecting HIV to the poor innocent wife. Yeah let's hope your husband is sensible enough to not commit to these ladies and he's not silly enough to not use protection.

Do NOT Marry Someone Until You Can Honestly Answer These 20 Questions

1. Is for better or worse making me better or worse?

Does your partner encourage you to be your best self, or does he or she get intimidated by any triumphs and feel more secure when you're not putting your best foot forward?

2. Do we really accept one another?

There will always be things you want to change about the people in your life, but no one should be in a situation where they feel they aren't allowed to be authentic and accepted as the unique, special (yet flawed) person they are.

3. Who am I?

How can you know if your partner is a good match if you have no idea who you are?

4. Am I happy to be in this relationship?

The idea of sharing a life together is not to find someone to complete you or make you happy. But let's face it: being unhappy at home can seep into other areas of your life . . . and fast. If you're always fighting or just generally not feeling great about your twosome, it doesn't mean you have to bail out (counseling might be a good option) but marrying someone in the hope that it changes things is a bad, bad idea.

5. Am I feeling trapped?

Do you really want to be in this relationship the majority of the time or do you find yourself wishing for a way out? Do you stay because you've invested time or are you really invested in your mate?

6. What am I doing to hold us back?

Maybe you could be more attentive, more thoughtful, quicker to let things go, or the first to bring up going to counseling. Whatever it is, take this as your sign to step up.

7. Is this relationship balanced?

Do you feel you're both on the same page in terms of compromise, care, support and sacrifice? Or is one of you doing most of the giving while the other just sits with their hand out?

8. Can we have fun together?

Have you ever seen two people sit across from one another in silence at brunch as though they are being forced to walk through their day together? Not. fun.

9. Can we have fun apart?

Co-dependency ain't cute, y'all.

10. Why am I in this relationship?

Is it because you respect, love, trust, and value the person you are with? Or because you're afraid of being alone, worried about finances, or have built a life you're scared to leave?

11. Where is this going?

Living in the "now" is great, but eventually the partnership will need a plan or someone will begin to feel anxious.

12. Do I really trust my partner?

For some, the immediate response to this can be devastating. If you're one of them, it's time to ask why and how you can begin to build or rebuild trust. Without it, there's no chance.

13. Am I with a good person?

Knowing what you know about your partner today, would you vouch for them if they were a friend?

14. Am I attracted to my partner?

Physical attraction is hardly the most important component in a relationship, but forcing yourself to be in a relationship with someone who you're not attracted to — just because it's comfortable or "perfect on paper" isn't fair to anyone. You will feel resentful and they will feel rejected.

15. Am I a parent or a partner?

Taking care of someone you love is a great thing to do, but when you feel like you're raising a boyfriend — or worse, a husband — things get a little complicated. You'll resent his childish ways. Who wants to sleep with their mom?

16. Does my partner have my back?

Do you feel like you're a part of a loyal team who stands up for one another, supports one another, and shows a united front (even when the other is not around)? Or, do you feel like you're constantly being thrown under the bus by your mate?

17. Are we looking in the same direction?

Some couples avoid having the big talks (religion, marriage, babies) because they think that, somehow, these things will just "work themselves out." By the time they realize they won't, they're in a complicated, painful situation that leaves one (or both) feeling a little bit duped.

18. Are we growing together?

Being a human being living on this earth, we all have a right to grow and develop, and create a full life for ourselves. Are you and your partner still indulging in your passions (individual and shared) and growing as individuals?

19. Am I still me?

Being in love with someone should not require changing our identity to fit someone else's idea of who we should be, on any level.

20. What is my gut telling me?

You have intuition for a reason. Listen to yourself.

63 Interesting Facts About . . . Marriage

1. The term “marriage” derives from the Latin word mas meaning “male” or “masculine.” The earliest known use of the word in English dates from the thirteenth century.^a
2. Due to jobs, kids, TV, the Internet, hobbies, and home and family responsibilities, the average married couple spends just four minutes a day alone together.^g
3. The Talmud is very strict about banning extramarital sex—but also enforcing marital sex. The Talmud even lays out a timetable for how often husbands should “rejoice” their wives. For men of independent means, every day; for laborers, twice a week; for ass-drivers, once a week; for camel-drivers, once in 30 days; and for sailors, once in six months.^e
4. Over 75% of people who marry partners from an affair eventually divorce.^h
5. The Oneida colony established in New York in 1848 advocated “complex” or group marriage in which every woman was married to every man. They also practiced “scientific breeding” where parents where matched by a committee according to physical and mental health.^e
6. Traditionally, bridesmaids would be dressed in similar bride-like gowns to confuse rival suitors, evil spirits, and robbers.^b
7. Marrying younger than age 25 dramatically raises the divorce risk. Also, the divorce risk is higher when the woman is much older than the man, though the reverse isn’t as a strong factor.^l

On average, married couples have sex 58 times per year

8. The average married couple has sex 58 times per year, or slightly more than once a week.^g
9. At Italian weddings, it is not unusual for both the bride and groom to break a glass. The number of shards will be equal to the number of happy years the couple will have.^b
10. The word “wife” is likely from the Proto-Indo-European root weip (“to turn, twist, wrap”) or ghwibh, which has a root meaning “shame” or “pudenda.”^o
11. The word “husband” is from the Old Norse husbondi or “master of the house” (literally,hus “house” + bondi “householder, dweller”).ⁱ
12. Some scholars trace the word “bride” to the Proto-Indo-European root bru, “to cook, brew, make broth.”^b
13. The term “groom” is from the Old English guma, meaning “man.”^f
14. In three states—Arkansas, Utah, and Oklahoma—women tend to marry younger, at an average age of 24. Men’s average age is 26. In the northeastern states of New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, men and women wait about four years longer to marry. The U.S. average age for women is 25.6 and for men, 27.7.ⁿ
15. A person’s level of education influences the age at which they marry. Couples tend to marry later in states with higher numbers of college-educated adults, while the opposite is true for states with lower education levels.ⁿ
16. Nevada, Maine, and Oklahoma have the highest percentage of divorced adults. Arkansas and Oklahoma have the highest rates of people who have been married at least three times.ⁿ
17. The probability of a first marriage ending in a divorce within 5 years is 20%, but the probability of a premarital cohabitation breaking up within 5 years is 49%. After 10 years, the probability of a first marriage ending is 33%, compared with 62% for cohabitations.^g
18. Hammurabi’s Code (ca. 1790 B.C.), an ancient Babylonian law code, contains some of the oldest known and recorded marriage laws. These early laws defined marriage as a contract that paradoxically served to protect women and restrict them. According to the Code, a man could divorce his wife if she could not bear children or of she was a “gadabout” who humiliated her husband in public and neglected her house. Additionally, she could be “pitched” in a river if she committed adultery.^g
19. Washington, D.C., has the lowest marriage rate in the nation.^c
20. Approximately $6 billion in revenue is lost by American businesses as a result of decreased worker productivity linked to marriage hardship. Employees in a happy marriage, in contrast, tend to increase a company’s bottom line.^g

The Great Recession has been one of the greatest strains on marriage in decades

21. CNN reports that the current economy is the biggeststress on married couples in the past 60 years.^j
22. A New Woman’s Day and AOL Living poll found that 72% of women surveyed have considered leaving their husbands at some point.^g
23. Married couples tend to have fatter waistlines, which can lead to a decrease in sexual attraction and general health. Additionally, a spouse’s chances of becoming obese increase by 37% if his or her partner is obese.^g
24. A 2008 study found that marital satisfaction improves once children leave home. However, if marital problems existed before, an empty nest often reveals those otherwise masked issues.^g
25. People whose marriage has broken down at the time they are diagnosed with cancer do not live as long as cancer patients who are widowed, have strong marriages, or who have never been married.^k
26. In ancient Greece, Solon (638-538 B.C.) once contemplated making marriage compulsory, and in Athens under Pericles (495-429 B.C.), bachelors were excluded from certain public positions. In Sparta, single and childless men were treated with scorn. In ancient Rome, Augustus (63 B.C.-A.D. 14) passed drastic laws compelling people to marry and penalized those who remained single.^m
27. Adults who are childhood cancer survivors are 20-25% less likely to marry compared with their siblings and the general American population.^k
28. Stress associated with divorce affects the body’s immune system and its ability to fend off the disease. The health benefits of remarriage are reduced the second and third times around.^g
29. Throughout most of history, marriage was not necessarily based on mutual love, but an institution devoted to acquiring in-laws and property and to provide the family additional labor forces (by having children).^e
30. A white New Orleans man in the late nineteenth century transfused himself with blood from a black woman he loved so he could overcome anti-discrimination laws by claiming he was black and marry her.ⁿ
31. One nineteenth-century New York legislator insisted that letting married women own their own property attacked both God and Nature.^e

A low or no sex marriage has a high probability of separation or divorce within 12 months

32. Just two years after marriage, an estimated 20% of couples make love fewer than 10 times in a year.^g
33. One in three American marriages is “low sex” or “no sex.”^g
34. The number of marriage therapists in the United States has increased 50-fold between 1970 and 1990.^g
35. In the United States, over 50% of first marriages end in divorce, 67% of second marriages end in divorce, and nearly 74% of third marriages end in divorce.^g
36. Marriage does more to promote life satisfaction than money, sex, or even children, say Wake Forest University psychologists.^g
37. Compared to singles, married people accumulate about four times more savings and assets. Those who divorced had assets 77% lower than singles.^g
38. Married elderly people are more likely to maintain daily health-promoting habits, such as exercising, not smoking, eating breakfast, and having regular medical check-ups.^g
39. More than friendship, laughter, forgiveness, compatiblility, and sex, spouses name trust as the element crucial for a happy marriage.^g
40. Eighty-one percent of happily married couples said their partner’s friends and family rarely interfered with the relationship, compared to just 38% of unhappy couples.^g
41. Eighty-five percent of couples have had premarital sex.^g

Nearly 60 percent of couples have had an affair, with most affairs occurring within the 25-39 age bracket

42. Nearly 60% of married adults have had at least one affair.^g
43. The cost of an average wedding is $20,000. The cost of an average divorce is $20,000.^g
44. Words form only 7% of our communication with anyone, including spouses. Tone of voice accounts for 38% and body language is responsible for 55% of the messages spouses receive from each other.^g
45. Women who report a fair division of housework were happier in their marriages than women who thought their husbands didn’t do their fair share. Wives also spent more quality time with their husbands when they thought the housework was divided fairly.^d
46. A 15-year-long study found that a person’s happiness level before marriage was the best predictor of happiness after marriage. In other words, marriage won’t automatically make one happy.^d
47. Researchers found a huge decline in happiness four years into a marriage with another decline in years seven to eight. In fact, half of all divorces occur in the first seven years of marriage, which gives rise to the popular term “the seven-year itch.”^d
48. More than two in five Catholics marry outside their church, twice as many as in the 1960s. There are at least one million Jewish-Christian marriages in the U.S. Two in five Muslims in America have chosen non-Muslim spouses.^d
49. Married people are twice as likely to go to church as unmarried people.^g
50. Half of emotional affairs become sexual affairs.^g
51. While couples with children are less likely to divorce than childless couples, the arrival of a new baby is more likely to bring more stress and emotional distance than new happiness. Nearly 90% of couples experienced decrease in martial satisfaction after the birth of their first child.^g
52. Over 40% of married couples in the U.S. include at least one spouse who has been married before. As many as 60% of divorced women and men will marry again, many within just five years.^g

Birth order is an important factor in determining the success of a marriage

53. Birth order can influence whether a marriage succeeds or fails. The most successful marriages are those where the oldest sister of brothers marries the youngest brother of sisters. Two firstborns, however, tend to be more aggressive and can create higher levels of tension. The highest divorce rates are when an only child marries another only child.^j
54. The number of men and women age 65 and older cohabiting outside of marriage nearly doubled between 1990 and 2000.^g
55. Because Virginia law required an ex-slave to leave the state once freed, one freed woman petitioned the legislature in 1815 to become a slave again so she could stay married to her still-enslaved husband.^e
56. For many centuries, the Catholic Church argued that contraception was a sin and made the wife no better “than a harlot.” Up until 1930, many Protestant churches agreed.^e
57. One seventeenth-century Massachusetts husband was put in stocks alongside his adulterous wife and her lover because the community reasoned she wouldn’t have strayed if her husband had been fulfilling is marital obligations.^e
58. Research points to certain characteristics that are most often linked to infidelity, such as being raised in a family where having affairs is considered normal, having a personality that values excitement and risk taking over marital stability, having coworkers and friends who believe affairs are acceptable, and feeling emotionally distant from one’s spouse.^l
59. No sex in a marriage has a much more powerful negative impact on a marriage than good sex has a positive impact.^d
60. Modern Western marriage traditions have long been shaped by Roman, Hebrew, and Germanic cultures as well as by doctrines and traditions of the Medieval Christian church, the Protestant Reformation, and the Industrial Revolution.^a
In ancient Rome, a kiss legally bonded a contract, including in marriages
61. A marriage ceremony typically ends with a kiss because in ancient Rome, a kiss was a legal bond that sealed contracts, and marriage was seen as a contract.^b
62. Levirate marriage, where a man is obligated to marry his brother’s widow if she had no sons to care for her, is sometimes required in the Bible (as in Deuteronomy) and sometimes prohibited (as in Leviticus).^e
63. The first recorded mention of same-sex marriage occurs in Ancient Rome and seems to have occurred without too much debate until Christianity became the official religion. In 1989, Denmark was the first post-Christianity nation to legally recognize same-sex marriage.^a

24 Weird and Wild Facts About Marriage

Fact number 1

The average married couple has sex 68.5 times a year, which is slightly more than once a week.

Fact number  2

75% of people who marry partners from an affair eventually divorce.

Fact number 3

1 in every 5 couples has a sexless marriage, having less than 10 encounters a year.

Fact number 4

80% of all  marriages in history  were between second  cousins or closer.

 Fact number 5

The word "bride" comes from an old proto-germanic word meaning "to cook".

Fact number 6

In France, you can marry a dead person.

 Fact number 7

Einstein, Darwin,  Allan Poe &  Saddam Hussein,  all married their  first cousins.

Fact number 8

About 300 couples marry in Las Vegas every day.

Fact number 9

A man married a dog in India as atonement.

Fact number 10

People who endure more than 45-minute commute are 40% more likely to divorce.

 Fact number 11

A 99-year-old man divorced his 96-year-old wife after 77 years of marriage because he discovered an affair she had in the 1940s.

Fact number 12

First marriages that end in a divorce usually last approximately 8 years.

 Fact number 13

A woman named Erika La Tour Eiffel "married" the Eiffel Tower in 2007.

Fact number 14

Couples who live together before engagement have higher divorce rates than those who wait.

Fact number 15

Most married couples are happiest in their third year of marriage.

Fact number 16

There are  100 divorces every hour in the U.S.

 Fact number 17

In Iran, a law from 2013 allows Men to marry their 13-year-old adopted daughters.

Fact number 18

Nero, the Roman Emperor, married a man, one of his freedmen,
taking the role of the bride.

 Fact number 19

The tradition of exchanging wedding rings goes back to ancient Egyptian times.

Fact number 20

Couples who spend more money on their wedding have higher divorce rates, a study found.

Fact number 21

Interracial marriage was banned in the U.S. for much of its history: from 1776 to 1967.

Fact number 22

Mail-order marriages are less likely to end in divorce than marriages overall in the U.S., a study found.

 Fact number 23

Marital infidelity was punishable with jail in South Korea until 2015.

Fact number 24

Couples who spend less on their wedding tend to have longer-lasting marriages.