Why do People Get Married?
Why do people get married? According to newlywed Seth Adam Smith’s “Marriage isn’t for me” blog post, which received over 24 million page views in 4 days, marriage isn’t something you do to make yourself happy, but rather “you marry to make someone happy.”
Nearly half (48%) of Americans who are currently married or have been married in the past claim that they got married because they felt that their partner was their soul mate, and they wanted to live their life with them. Four out of ten Americans who had been married at least once also stated that one of the motivating factors for getting married was that they felt that their future husband or wife was their best friend. For 34% of Americans having life goals that were similar their partner’s was also a motivating factor for tying the knot.
When asked what the single, strongest, motivating factor was for getting married 39% of Americans agreed that they got married because they thought their partner was their soul mate.
For a majority of Americans the greatest pleasures in marriage are derived from shared experiences. 65% of Americans feel that having someone to share exciting, and wonder moments with is the greatest pleasure they get from marriage. Over half of Americans also believe that having somebody to share troubles and worries with (55%); and having somebody to build a family together are also great pleasures derived from marriage (52%).
Marriage isn’t always rainbows and butterflies for Americans, with only 35% stating that they have no disappointments in their marriage. The bad economy might be the root of disappointment for married individuals, with 27% stating that financial difficulty is a big source of disappointment in their marriage. Individuals who are currently married have the least amount of disappointment in their marriage with over 4 out 10 (41%) claiming that they haven’t had any disappointments in their marriage.
Only a mere 3% of Americans who are currently divorced claim that they had no disappointments in their previous marriages. Among divorced individuals 48% felt that their biggest disappointment in their marriage had been finding out things about their spouse that they did not like.
Find the full results here.
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