No marriage is perfect — but after being together for years and years, these couples have gotten a thing or two figured out. Whether you’re engaged, you’ve been married for 3 years or you’ve been together for 13 years, honesty, empathy, (and apparently a little texting) go a long way in any relationship. We’ve pulled the best advice from a few happy couples, and here are their pieces of advice that are worth remembering.
However, always remember that no two couples are the same.
1. “Marry your best friend — the person you like to have random conversations with, who interests you, who makes you laugh a lot. Marry the one you can spend all your time with, the one who will support you in tough times and good times. That is ‘the one’.”
2. “Decide whether or not a fight is really worth having. Think: ‘If it doesn’t matter tomorrow, does it really matter today?'”
3. “‘Don’t worry about what other people think is ‘normal.’ I’ve been married for almost 20 years, and this piece of insight has made all the difference. You don’t need to conform to society’s standards. Do what works for you and your partner in a marriage.”
4. “If you’re doing marriage right, the ‘dating phase’ of your relationship never ends.”
5. “It is ok to go to bed angry. Everyone says not to go to bed angry, but sometimes, a night of sleep is exactly what you need. Sleeping on an argument can change your perspective and help with resolution.”
6. “Marry them for who they are now. Not for their potential.”
7. ” Never ask your partner to make a sacrifice for you that you wouldn’t do for them if they reversed the roles”
8. “‘If you’re wrong, admit it, apologize, and shut up. And no matter how right you are about something, just stay silent and let her rattle.
9. “Most of the time you spend together is going to be non-sexual, so the most important thing is to be best friends. Otherwise, it won’t last.”
10. “The point of arguing is not to win. It’s to understand where they’re coming from and why this issue matters to them.”
