Marry First

By Julie Baumgardner Remember the rhyme, “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage”? Not so anymore. Over the past decade there has been a shift in the sequence of marriage and having babies. New research indicates 57 percent of mothers between the age of 26 and 31 are unmarried when […]

An Unspoken Fact About Sex-Starved Marriages

By Michele-Weiner Davis Do (or did) you and your spouse have a sexual desire gap? If so, you are not alone. Did you know that 1 in 3 couples have completely different levels of interest in sex? But just because you aren’t alone, it doesn’t mean you should be complacent about a ho-hum sexual relationship. You shouldn’t. […]

Why the American Family is Falling Apart

By Mike McManus The American family is falling apart.  Consider two grim trends. The U.S. marriage rate has plunged 57% since 1970, according to “The State of Our Unions” for 2012.  Two-thirds of Americans over age 15 used to be married.  Now it is only 48%. The unwed birth rate was only 5% in 1960 […]

Conscious Uncoupling: Another View

By Seth Eisenberg I have to admit, I became “consciously uncoupled” long before Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin created a national conversation about the phrase. My parents became consciously uncoupled before my fourth birthday. I admit this as someone proud to consider myself among the most passionate proponents of marriage. When TIME Magazine interviewed me a few years ago about […]

Why Not Conscious Re-coupling?

I find it sad when any couple splits, especially couples with children.  I feel the same way about Gwyneth Paltrow and her soon-to-be ex-husband. When there’s some sort of abuse, it’s equally sad, but it’s also understandable when a spouse calls it quits.  That’s not the case here.  And I’m more than a bit annoyed […]

America’s Dismantling of Marriage

Earlier this month, columnist Cynthia Allen reflected on America’s on-going debate about marriage and the historical connection between marriage and economic outcomes, especially for children.  “Marriage is not a silver bullet,” she said, but she also pointed out the failure of decades-long policies in our war on poverty, suggesting that there might be something to […]

How to Help Your Friend’s Marriage

By Lori Lowe Did you know that according to a USA Today survey of 1,000 adults aged 25 to 70, almost three-fourths of adults have been marriage confidants?  Indeed, 78% of women and 69% of men have had a friend or family member confide in them about their marriage or long-term relationship struggles. In fact, most people (64%) would […]

The Real Deal about Government-Funded Marriage Programs

By John Crouch If you have opinions about “the government getting involved in marriage”, you need to get some facts about it, too. I can’t think of a better place to start than this article by Scott Stanley. Dr. Stanley had been a leader in marriage skills education, and in studies of its impact, long before conservatives […]

Preventing Divorce Through Compassion, Humility and Positivity

 By Krsnanandini Devi Dasi & Tariq Saleem Ziyad The following is based on the true story of a couple headed toward divorce.  After the narrative, we give two scenarios that were possible, given the challenges the couple experienced.  We ask you, the reader, to choose the scenario that would give the best hope for the […]

What Kids Want Most

 Written by Beverly Willett I’m willing to bet the house that no child who sat on Santa’s knee this past Christmas wished for mommy and daddy to split up and live in separate houses.  And I don’t need a scientific survey to back that up. It’s not complicated, folks.  Unless family life is literally a […]