Most Difficult Years of Marriage

Marriage is hard work. Every married couple has to face challenges. If you overcome these challenges together, your relationship becomes stronger. If you don't... well, not all couples have their happily ever after. Every marriage is unique, but there are certain patterns that apply to most couples.

The first year of marriage is generally considered tough. Couples who move in together after they get married usually experience more difficulties than couples who have experience sharing an apartment because they need to get used to new living arrangements.

When the honeymoon stage is over, reality sets in. Newlyweds realize that marriage isn't what they expected it to be and that living together is not all sunshine and rainbows. They start to get bothered by little things and fight over household chores, lack of attention/personal space, etc. They have to deal with in-laws and discuss important things such as kids and family budget.

During the first couple of years, many newlyweds question their decision to get married. However, if they work together as a team, they manage to resolve their issues and become closer. According to statistics, most married couples find themselves happiest in the third year of marriage. They are comfortable with each other and have settled into co-existence.

The next bump in the road usually comes during the fifth year of marriage. By this time, many couples decide to have a kid. On the one hand, this decision shows their commitment to each other (unless they decided to have a child to save their marriage from falling apart, which is not a wise thing to do). On the other hand, throwing a kid into the mix inevitably makes family life more stressful.

The fifth year of marriage is considered the toughest because it challenges spouses in new ways, and some couples find themselves on the brink of divorce. During this period, many couples decide to attend marriage or relationship counseling.

Couples that survive the toughest year have two relatively calm years ahead of them, and then comes the seven-year itch. The term “seven-year itch” refers to the decline of happiness in a relationship after the seventh years of marriage. A lot of couples divorce around this time.

However, if you pass this mark, you are likely to have a long marriage. That's why year seven of marriage is sometimes referred to as “the wall”. If you manage to get over the wall, there is a long road ahead of you.