1st Stage Of Marriage – Honeymoon Stage
- At first, everything in marriage feels magical, romantic, heavenly, beautiful, amazing … you name it. Why? Because it’s the honeymoon stage.
- You’re completely into each other, crazy about each other, head over heels in love, inseparable, etc.
- Your sexual chemistry is off the charts. You can’t get enough of each other. You can’t keep your hands off each other. The intimacy feels magnetic and effortless.
- You overlook the little flaws in your partner, and if you see them, they don’t really bother you. You’re too busy loving your partner.
- You’re excited and hopeful about the future. You look forward to building a lasting and enviable life together.
- You do nice things for each other because you want to – you don’t keep tabs.
- You go out of your way for your partner without expecting anything in return.
- You give freely to your partner out of love and not out of duty.
- Most of the things you do in the first stage of marriage feel effortless.
The 2nd Stage Of Marriage – The Reality Stage
- After the honeymoon stage, reality starts to kick in.
- You start to realize that love/romance alone isn’t enough to sustain a marriage.
- You start noticing little things in your partner – things you earlier allowed to slide by.
- Some of your partner’s habits start to annoy you, irritate you, and get on your nerves.
- You try to fix or change each other, and may get frustrated in the process.
- As the pressures of real life increase, you annoy each other more and argue more, sometimes over petty things.
- You complain and criticize each other more, and may hurt one another in the process.
- You could start sulking and giving your partner the silent treatment.
- You may start holding grudges and bitterness, and you thus become more miserable.
- The things that made you laugh now make you roll your eyes.
- With so much going on in your lives, your romantic and sexual connection starts to suffer.
- You start to wonder whether this is what you really signed up for.
- You may start wondering if the marriage will last. You might even start entertaining the idea of separation or divorce.
- The 2nd stage of marriage (the reality stage) is where many marriages start to face serious challenges. If you allow the challenges to overwhelm you, the marriage might not survive.
The 3rd Stage Of Marriage – When Real Love Begins
- The 3rd stage of marriage is one that people rarely talk about. Yet, it’s the stage when real love begins.
- If you choose to work through the 2nd phase of marriage (reality stage), you get to the 3rd stage.
- In the 3rd stage of marriage, your love for each other becomes something deeper.
- The love you have for each other at this stage is not about sparks or butterflies; it’s about understanding each other.
- You’ve been through tough times and didn’t give up on each other, meaning you still have feelings for each other.
- Sex may still be part of your life in the 3rd stage, but it changes. It may become less frequent, less wild, but more meaningful. However, if you both don’t make extra effort to keep your sex life going, your intimacy could decline or end altogether.
- At this stage, you’ve stopped trying to fix or change each other. You’ve somehow accepted to live with each other, warts and all.
- You now know and understand how your partner thinks, feels, how they deal with stress, what they need, etc.
- You accept your partner’s flaws and he/she accept yours.
- You start growing together and growing old together, gracefully. Because the 3rd stage of marriage is when real love begins.
At what stage is your marriage? Kindly share in the comments section below. Cheers!
Also read: Is Your Marriage Struggling? 10 Things You Can Do To Save Your Marriage.
