How to Make a Long-Distance Marriage Work

Long-distance relationships are hard, and love is often not enough to handle the difficulties of separation, even if it is temporary. However, if you manage to make a long-distance marriage work, your relationship will become much stronger. If you are sure that living apart is worth the risk of falling apart (sorry for the bad pun), our tips on how to deal with a long-distance marriage might come in handy.

Tip #1. Communicate. Communication is the key to any relationship, but when you're separated by hundreds or even thousands of miles, communication is even more important than usual. You need to stay in touch with your spouse in order not to grow apart. You can call each other, text, use Skype/FaceTime, etc. You don't have to talk for hours if your busy schedules don't allow it, but even sharing a couple of mundane details about your day will make you feel closer. And you absolutely must talk if something is wrong, because ignoring problems never makes them go away.

Tip #2. Don't overdo it. Staying connected is important, but that doesn't mean that you should spend every spare minute talking to each other. Sometimes it is okay not to talk if you are too busy or tired (just make sure your significant other knows you can't talk to them, don't leave them hanging). You should also end the conversation when there is nothing left to talk about. When a conversation feels forced, it can lead to a fight.

Tip #3. Make the most of the time you spend together. When you visit each other on weekends or are on vacation together, enjoy every minute of the time you have. And we don't only mean sex (although rekindling physical intimacy is very important), talking and doing all sorts of things together, however mundane and boring these things might seem, is also important.

Tip #4. Trust each other. If there is no mutual trust in your relationship, it is not going to work. As soon as one of you begins to suspect the other in loss of interest or even infidelity, your marriage is going to go through a rough patch. Don't let your doubts and jealousy overcome you and ruin your marriage. You also should be completely honest and open with each other, even if it is hard.

Tip #5. Don't make a fuss over small things. Making a big deal of little things will only lead to unnecessary fights. Sometimes you should let it slide, there are a lot of things that are not worth arguing about. However, that doesn't mean that you can ignore real problems. As it's already been said, ignoring problems will never help you solve them.