A 2006 Pew Research study found that about a quarter of unmarried Americans (23 million) say they are in unmarried committed romantic relationships. A slice of this population is what I dub "a little bit married": They live together, go on each other's family vacations and own pets together, but aren't yet engaged. In my new book, A Little Bit Married: How to Know When It's Time to Walk Down The Aisle or Out the Door, I conclude that "a little bit married" (ALBM) is a recent cultural phenomenon, taking place especially among college-educated, upwardly mobile, twenty- and … Read More

I had always been sure I wanted to get married, and the longer I dated Dean, the more sure I was that he was the right one for me. That is...until I got engaged. 

Dean's proposal wasn't a surprise. I was too nosey to not know it was happening, and I enthusiastically said yes the moment he asked. However, once it happened (in a sweet and thoughtful way, I should add), I began to feel these nagging questions eating away at me: Did I really want to be married? Would we be any good at it?

I love Dean, but in the … Read More

The other day, while having dinner with my 2-year-old son at a '50s-themed diner, I noticed an older couple sitting nearby while I cut up my son's chicken fingers. My son was clanking his spoon on his plate and la-la-la'ing, but I hardly heard the noise. The man had a tie on and the woman was wearing very pink lipstick. Both of their hands shook.

"Mirabelle," the older gentleman said. "You've got mayonnaise on your shirt." 5 Reasons To Grow Old With Someone

"What?" the woman said. She looked confused. She started fumbling for something in her purse. She handed … Read More

Cathy Torkelson, 34, had a good job as a legal consultant, a loving boyfriend and supportive friends and family. She was a good girlfriend in what appeared to be a solid year-and-a-half-long relationship. Yet, internally, Cathy was anxious, irritable, moody and unable to concentrate. The cause? A persistent question: why hasn't he proposed? Signs He's Serious

Torkelson's questioning became "all-consuming," and eventually turned a normally independent, rational woman into a nervous wreck.

"I got in a depressive state where all I wanted to do was crawl into a ball and cry," she explains. Her boyfriend was committed, attentive and she knew … Read More

We all know at least one person who always has a significant other, even immediately after a breakup. Lately I’ve noticed that serial monogamy—leaping from one exclusive relationship to the next—has become a more popular and accepted dating trend among my friends and acquaintances. Why?

According to Psychology Today, serial monogamists usually believe in some kind of ideal love and in the importance of commitment to one partner, but keep a safe distance from the idea that true love should happen only once in a lifetime. Why chain ourselves to one Prince Charming when we can find a new one as … Read More

Like a plot ripped straight from a Nicholas Sparks novel, the BBC reports that a UK man finally married his ex-fiancee after a lost love letter he wrote to her 10 years ago was recently discovered behind a fireplace in her mother's villa.

Steve Smith met Carmen Ruiz-Perez in 1993 when the pair was both 25 and she was an Spanish exchange student living in Devon, England.

The two were briefly engaged, but the relationship fell apart after Ruiz-Perez moved to Paris to run a boutique.

Five years later, in 1998, Smith located the address of Ruiz-Perez's mother in Spain … Read More

While some women have trouble with breasts that droop or low-hanging butt cheeks, my heart has always been my least-resilient body part. Like Chet Baker once crooned, I fall in love too easily. And once it ends—especially when it's not my idea—I tend to have a little trouble getting back up on that passion pony. The worst time was after a six-year relationship went kibosh (translation: he dumped me). I didn't so much as kiss another man for two years. I know. It still makes me shudder.Sure, I was busy moaning, moping, sobbing, and sighing for the first … Read More

I have to admit, even after reading Still life With Woodpecker no less than about 5 or 6 times, I still have no idea how to make love stay. The most I gathered from the book, it has something to do with Camel cigarettes and since my relationship with smoking was a brief one, I'm afraid that tip is of no use to me. Thankfully, a new study published in the March issue of the Review of General Psychology found that a surprisingly high number of long-term couples, including some who had been married over 20 years, reported that they … Read More

Lemondrop's Bediquette column today discusses the comfort—and horror—of familiarity. According to a new poll, romance lasts exactly two years, six months and 25 days, after which time couples stop trying and start leaving the toilet seat up, hording the remote and ignoring their wedding anniversary.

Lemondrop writer Lauren Bohn points out that comfort is a type of intimacy; if you're relaxed enough to let your man see your shiny, makeup-free face, you're reached a mature stage in your relationship where you no longer need to continually impress your partner.

A good point, to be sure; there's … Read More

“Is your little brother still with his girlfriend?” my friend Sue inquired during a little cookout I hosted this weekend, her mouth twisted into a snarl.

“Ugh. Yes.” I replied, not because I didn’t like the girlfriend – she’s actually very sweet – but just because I’m perpetually the sibling that can’t sustain a healthy romantic relationship.

“Jeez. What has it been, three years? When are they going to give it a rest already?”

“Shut up, you ass monkey,” I poked her side. “You’re the biggest hypocrite ever. It’s been like four for you and yours.”

It’s just so easy … Read More