If you have been with your significant other over 10 years, what do you atribute it to ?

Question

I am looking for the reasons couples stay together for an extended relationship. Please put in your answers the time you have been in your current relationship, what caused you to select this person and if anything was basicly changed in your relationship to cause it to continue. Or were you a complete match from the begining?

Any information will be helpful.

Thanks for your time.

Answer 1

My husband and I have been married 23 years, together 26.

We started as friends, and the friendship deepened. It's not that we have a lot in common, so far as interests and hobbies - although we do share a few. What we have in common is our approach to life, how we think life should be lived, what's important, how people should treat each other.

He says we don't think alike, but we almost always come to the same conclusion - by different routes.

We enjoy each others' company, trust each other, and respect each other. I am a better person within the relationship than I would be without it - we encourage each other to try to be, and do, better. We make each other feel wanted, listened to, appreciated.

In practical terms, we decided on "fair fighting" rules early on - what is, and isn't, allowed when we argue. We try to watch our manners around each other and treat each other with courtesy. We spend time maintaining our friendship. That's what you always come back to during stressful times - the friendship.

We laugh a lot, as we both tend to see the funny side of things. He's the one person who will always get what I'm laughing about.

At the beginning of our marriage, we talked about what we wanted and expected, and agreed on a few things. Divorce is not an option, and can't be brought up, even during an argument. That leaves having to work it out. Our goal is to work out differences so that we both are comfortable with the result.

What keeps us together is that we like, respect, and enjoy each other more than anyone else we know.

Answer 2

15 years now, 10 married.

Physical attraction alway starts it, but personality (especially a common sense of humor) are what work in the long run.

Having space is fine, you do not need to have EVERYTHING in common, but just enough things to make it fun. I think it is important to share core values too, what is important to you both?: Money? Children? Sex? Social Status?

When your core value align you are more likely to stay together. How many anti-gun liberal girls find out after the fact that hubby is a right-wing militia member who is an African mercenary???

The other important thing is to pick your fights. Don't sweat the little stuff. you are gonna argue sometimes, but get to the core issues and resolve it rather then get hot over how much mustard got put on your hot dog....

Answer 3

I know this sounds like a joke answer but it is not; the answer is sex. Men like sex and women control the sex life. I make sure that we have a lot of high quality sex, I enjoy it too.

We have been together for 10 years married for about 9, he still comes home right after work because he knows what is waiting.

He is my very happy slave, ten years later he still treats me like a queen, in fact my single friends comment that he treats me even better than their boyfriends do.

Answer 4

We have been married for 32 years. You have to be able to talk about anything. You have to realize nobody's perfect. You have to be able to accept change. For example, when my husband was in charge of our finances, we were always broke and our bills were never paid, and he had to accept that I was better at managing the money. Also, when he put his friends and his drinking ahead of me and the kids, he had to accept it when I asked him to choose us or them. You have to be friends, you have to have things in common, things you enjoy doing together. We do not have a TV in the bedroom. As for why I chose him, I'm not really sure, but we were married three months after we met.

Answer 5

It takes alot of give and take and yes it changes as we all do.Just have to adjust to it.

Answer 6

LOVE AND ENDURANCE