Dear Sugar,
I have been in a relationship for about seven years, and we've lived together for nearly four. I have been trying to talk to my partner about getting married, but he just doesn't want to go that route. We each have our own children from previous relationships, as well as two that are ours together.
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Intimacy is a relationship necessity, but is there such a thing as too much intimacy? This is something I consistently debate with my girlfriends, which is why I was so glad to see it broached by Jake of Married Jake, one of Glamour's love and sex blogs.
Jake was confounded when his new wife asked him not to pee in front of her anymore.
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Yesterday, the Business section of the New York Times had an article addressing the significance of financial compatibility in marriage, likening its seriousness in making or breaking a marriage to that of sex and children. And, of course, it has me thinking about what it takes to make a successful long-term partnership beyond love. The article notes:
Marrying for love is a relatively recent phenomenon.
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If a relationship lasts long enough, it's natural for thoughts about the long-term future to arise. And figuring out if you and your significant other are on the same wavelength can help you determine whether or not your relationship should continue.
But while considering the future is common, and often important, there's still something inherently scary and exciting when having a talk about marriage for the first time.
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I’m a huge supporter of online dating — heck, I’m fan of anything that gets two compatible people in contact with one another — but I’ve always thought of it more as a tool that’s used when a person is ready to settle down, and less for casual dating (unless of course, that’s the kind of site that you’re browsing).
Most people I know who have had success with online dating were done with fleeting relationships and wanted to establish something with someone looking for the same level of longevity and stability. If you were ready to settle down, but hadn't met anyone yet, would you give it a try?
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So often I hear people refer to having the “the talk” in a new relationship to determine where the relationship is headed. Deciding to be in a committed, exclusive relationship is a big deal for many couples as they quickly move from single to taken. Even still I’ve always held onto the romantic notion that the exclusivity talk isn't always necessary; instead, a relationship can grow gradually, until you know he’s not seeing anyone else because he’s always with you!
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When a relationship is serious, it’s common to define it as long term in order to qualify its significance. But what does long term really mean? Chitchatting with some girlfriends the other night, I realized that we all had a different length of time that qualified as long term in our books.
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Yesterday Reuters reported on a study, showing that men and women can tell whether a member of the opposite sex is interested in long-term commitment or a fling simply by looking at them. The article notes:
Women found men with softer features more likely to opt for commitment . .
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When Jessica Simpson first started dating Tony Romo, everyone seemed quick to write them off. She had just come out of a string of failed relationships and Tony came under fire for letting Jessica "ruin his football season." Even though they're still together, I feel like we're just waiting for news of the break up, since we all "know" it won't last. 
One of the most common complaints from couples is that although they're still committed to each other, they seem to have lost the magic that they had in the beginning of their relationship. Part of making a long term relationship work is learning to create surprises and romance even in the midst of stress, work, family, and everyday life. To get some tips on how to keep your spark alive, click here to
