Pew Research Center has recently analyzed government data and found out that millennials are taking a different path in forming, or rather not forming, families. Millennials are less likely to live with a family of their own than previous generations were at the same stage of life.
We can safely say that marriage is not the trendiest thing among 23-38-year-olds right now, and given that, it’s only fair how little we know about what it is like to form a family unit. So when someone asked married folks “What’s something you wish unmarried people knew?” on r/AskReddit, it immediately turned into an illuminating thread.
The honest answers can seriously change the way you think of marriage, finally showing how incredibly hard, yet rewarding navigating married life can really be. Have some thoughts to share? Hit us in the comments below!
#1
Be honest always! Once you break trust, you never really get it back. Even if that honesty might cause some momentary discomfort, in the long run, you’re better off because your spouse will trust you.
Image source: Obiwan_ca_blowme, Dave Goudreau
#2
Liking your partner is just as important if not more than loving them.
Image source: No-Wrangler-9001, Jack Sparrow
#3
Having kids is NOT REQUIRED.
My wife and I are having loads of fun just being together. Don’t need kids to be happy.
Image source: Charlie24601, Caleb Oquendo
#4
Getting married will NOT help solve any issues in your relationship.
Image source: HazyDaisy89, Emma Bauso
#5
Only the couple sets the rules of what their marriage is.
Not your mother, not your friends, not tv…just you.
That actually applies to all relationships.
Image source: adamwritesit, Tiến Dũng
#6
Talk to your partner before you make decisions. I can’t even tell you how much s**t I get from my single friends when I tell them I’ll ‘check with my husband’ before agreeing to do something, but usually it’s just to make sure we don’t have something else going on that I forgot about. It’s not asking permission, it’s being considerate of your partner. It’s especially true if you have kids. No, I don’t ask my husband to ‘babysit,’ but it would be pretty s**tty for me to just say, ‘Oh, hey, I’m going out tonight. Have fun with a couple of toddlers by yourself and with no notice!’ And he treats me with the same respect.
Image source: IAmZot, Anthony Shkraba
#7
My wife is my favorite person in the whole world, even after 17 years of marriage and 5 kids. I like her more than I like you, so don’t expect me to take your side.
Image source: cinch123, Almos Bechtold
#8
Have things you enjoy doing with your spouse that don’t involve sex. The most stable marriages are ones where you and your spouse could be friends if you weren’t married. Goes for dating, too, IMO.
Image source: eezertheturnip, Pixabay
#9
I would urge people to consider a low-key wedding. My wife and I eloped, and as far as I can tell, all we missed out on was months of stressful planning, spending an obscene amount of money, and the existential nightmare of having to stand up in front of everyone you know and tell your partner how you feel about them. It was intimate, precious, and the best day of my life, and we didn’t even have to bankrupt our parents for it.
Image source: National-Ship-5341, Dmitry Zvolskiy
#10
Once the butterflies go away, it’s your job to create butterfly moments.
Image source: Frito_del_sur_Sar, asadphotography
#11
It’s totally okay to sleep in separate beds or even separate rooms if that’s what works for you. I am not going to be a good partner if I only get four hours of sleep because I was listening to him snore all night, or if jobs require different sleeping schedules and you take a while to get to sleep.
Image source: Educational-Candy-17, Taryn Elliott
#12
Getting married doesn’t mean you’re never going to feel lonely again.
Image source: freechurro824, Andrew Neel
#13
Please pay attention to the red flags. The ones you ignore at the beginning are the ones that will tear you up at the end. Don’t marry because you love feeling loved, make sure you love them too
Image source: ginobili_vic0629, Alex Green
#14
I have been married over 30 years. I would estimate only 25 of those years has been happily married. There will be s**tty times possibly years. Wait it out unless it’s abuse. People are often unhappy at work or something like that and leave their partner instead of dealing with the true problem. Your spouse should be the one you lean on to get through the outside noise not the first one you blame.
Image source: kearlysue, Heather Mount
#15
Communication may be key but comprehension is the entire treasure chest.
Image source: OreoDJ, Priscilla Du Preez
#16
Live together for at least a year before getting married.
Image source: Trading_2Go, Ketut Subiyanto
#17
Talk about whether you want kids or not before things get serious.
Finances are something you manage together. It isn’t something you cede to one spouse for whatever reason. I say this as someone who had to teach my dad how to use an ATM and the online banking site after my mom died.
It’s your relationship. It’s something that belongs to you two. No one else.
Adult up. Both partners need to take in the mental load of managing the house.
Image source: ConnieLingus24, Vidal Balielo Jr.
#18
Being married 20 years, I’m guilty of it sometimes too, but being in a long-term relationship like that just makes you an expert on your own relationship. Not on relationships in general. We can sometimes forget that just because it works well in our own life doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for others. When you’re a young couple, dozens of older couples are going to tell you what works for them. The best thing to do is understand that it’s coming from a place of caring, and some of it will be good advice, but you’ve got to just find what works for you.
Image source: ifficultMinute, Jimmy Chan
#19
Fights/quarrels will happen, but nowhere near as frequently as media makes it out to be. My wife and I are so tired of shows and movies saying “we’re married so of course we’re going to fight. We have lots of fights ahead.” Fighting is not a norm of being married. If you’re fighting a lot, that’s not good and isn’t a sign to get married just because fighting is “inevitable”, because it’s not.
Image source: FlipsyFlop, Keira Burton
#20
Decide whether a fight is worth having. If it doesn’t matter tomorrow, does it really matter today?
Image source: hnireland, Keira Burton
#21
Your spouse is going to change. They will not be the same person you married 2, 5, 10, 20 years ago. Then once you’ve learned that, they will change again. Just like you will evolve and change as time goes by.
Don’t be keyed in on the idea of the person you married on your wedding day. You need to understand how to grow with them and love them for who they are at that moment.
Sometimes you need to “break up with them.” My wife and I went through a rut around our 7th year of marriage. We had become completely different people and we needed to find a way to fall in love again.
I had to forget everything I knew about the woman that I married and get to know this “new” woman that was next to me. Our hobbies and interests have changed and so I had to take the time to get to know those things about her. Our spiritual beliefs had changed. I had to open myself up and learn about her new journey to find herself.
Marriage is an ever adapting and evolving relationship. It’s a ton of emotional work but if you can let go of your preconceptions of that person a
Image source: Zabroccoli, Simon Godfrey
#22
Marry your friend, not your lover. Be friends first, then lovers.
Also – both should put more in than they take.
Image source: mydnight224, Greta Hoffman
#23
The ‘dating phase’ of your life never ends, if you’re doing it right.
Image source: FarWoods, Falaq Lazuardi
#24
Focus on your marriage and not just on the wedding.
Image source: rhnireland, Dominika Roseclay
#25
You are planning to be together FOREVER. Let your partner go hang with their friends without you occasionally. I knew a couple who had been together for years and husband wanted to go skateboarding with his friends. Wife wanted to sit at home watching tv and told him he “wasn’t allowed” I thought that was absurd. If he’s doing it every day. Sure. But once in a while?
That being said, if hyper codependency is your bag, go for it. But make sure you know it’s your partners bag too. Yknow?
Image source: youngeliza, Khoa Huỳnh
#26
THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO COMMUNICATE ABOUT EVERYTHING, AT ALL TIMES!!!
If you don’t, prepare for the eventual divorce. Communication is key.
Took me a long time to figure that one out, marriage improved enormously. Been married 14 years and counting.
Image source: Makkapakka777, cottonbro
#27
Go on a road trip together. Travel together before marriage. Close quarters and tough situations will give you insights into who that other person is.
Image source: healthydoseofsarcasm, Dids
#28
Do not rush into marriage, and make sure you have multiple serious talks about everything (few examples: religion, family, friends, goals for near future, goals for future, plan for kids, lifestyle, housing, retirement.)
The reason I say multiple talks is because people grow or change the longer they are with each other.
Image source: Jim105, Belle Collective
#29
Choose someone you like as a person and whose company you genuinely enjoy. Don’t just choose them because they are cute, sexy, wealthy, tick all the boxes you have in your head about what a partner should look like.
You will spend a LOT of time with the person you marry. When you come home from a hard day at work, when you are sick, family gatherings, holidays, vacations, down time, I just wanna chill moments, weddings, funerals, dinners, breakfasts, for about 60 years if you are lucky…
That is a long .ss time. You better enjoy their company.
Tldr: if you can’t stand the idea of sharing 5x52x60= 15600 meals with a person, don’t marry them.
Image source: baobab-astro, Amina Filkins
#30
Love is a choice, not a feeling.
Image source: angmakesit, Stanley Morales
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