In the News: Cohabiting Doesn't Guarantee a Happy Marriage

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Cohabiting Doesn't Guarantee a Happy Marriage

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Living together before marriage doesn't necessarily lead to a long, happy marriage, recent studies find. Though commonly believed to be beneficial, some psychologists find that many cohabiting couples simply slide into living together, and when their relationship becomes rocky they try to save it by getting married. This ultimately leads to a troubled marriage and a stronger likelihood for divorce.

A Journal of Family Psychology study found that 19 percent of those cohabiting before marriage looked to divorce as a solution as opposed to only 12 percent of those who moved in together after marrying. The rosy outlook of newlywed love also seems to help just-married couples over the hump of setting up house together, a benefit lost to previously cohabiting couples (Lydia Slater, "Does Living Together Before Marriage Make You More Likely To Divorce?" DailyMail.co.uk, June 10, 2012).

God, as the eternal Creator, knows the details of the human mind and what will lead to the strongest potential for peace and happiness. He created the marriage institution between man and woman to succeed.