Building a meaningful and successful marriage is undeniably a lifelong challenge. Taking time and effort to understand the stages of marriage you will go through as a married couple, might help in building a more fulfilling and stronger relationship.
The following are the stages of marriage that you need to know:
Stage One-Passion
This stage is also referred to as the honeymoon stage. This is when intense attraction and romance keep the couple closer together and result in commitment. Some couples lose the spark and magic early in this stage, but others manage to proceed to the next stage of marriage. This varies depending on the couple. The passion stage or honeymoon stage is very significant and strong.
Stage Two-Realization
In this stage, the honeymoon ends, and a real vision of life together begins. It is also in this stage that you discover that your better half is only human with flaws and weaknesses. Early conflicts and disappointments are the hallmark of this unavoidable and challenging period as both are making the very first steps towards accepting one another for who they are.
Stage Three-Rebellion
Love amidst power struggles of rebellion stage is somewhat a tricky thing. You both believe you are right; therefore, the other partner is wrong. This could mean being offended simultaneously for being wrong or claiming the high and moral ground. Marriage experts reveal that rebellion dramas are unavoidable. So the mission of married couples should be learning the real art of compromising. Oftentimes, it is the nature of conflicts and battles rather than the substance of discussions that resist troubles and marriage issues.
Stage Four -Cooperation
As the marriage progresses as time goes by, there will be inevitable instances that will be more complicated. Houses get bigger, careers bloom, personal commitments become deeper, children arrive and more. In the cooperation stage, the marriage might take a business-like character or personality.
Stage Five-Reunion
If couples have kids, this stage will usually last 10 to 20 years, and then suddenly, this is gone. Parenting commitments will be minimized, careers are set, finances are established, and mortgage may be settled completely. What then? For happy couples, this is the time to appreciate one another again, not as providers or as parents but as friends and lovers. If you achieve this, there will surely be happiness, peace, and reconciliation.
Stage Six-Explosion Stage
Major health issues, job loss, relocation, financial troubles, death of loved ones are things experienced as couples pass through the midlife up to their golden years, and major developments in life tend to come one after the other. In this explosion stage, either you and your partner or both will be dealing with life-shaking events that affect relationships. It could be for a week, month, year, or for the rest of their lives. Whereas the stages of marriage mentioned above come in order, this sixth stage – explosion stage – can occur any time in marriage, though this happens commonly during their 40s or 50s.
Stage Seven-Completion
Studies revealed that marital happiness usually soars high after several decades of shared married life. This is mainly because the kids have grown up, and the couples reach the point of knowing each other completely well. Marriage has reached its deeper meaning and purpose in the completion stage.