4 Ways to Make Romance Last

1. Shop for the Right Spouse

Did you know there’s actually a formula that predicts whether a marriage will succeed? Beatty Cohan, a psychotherapist in Sarasota, Florida, and co-author of For Better, For Worse, Forever: Discover the Path to Lasting Love, offers these predictors for a successful marriage:

Look to the Parents
Check out your beloved’s family background, particularly the parents’ relationship, to get a good idea of the behaviour he’s been exposed to. What we learned as kids, we often play out as adults.

Turn Investigator
Are there signs of alcoholism or other forms of addiction in the family? Be careful, there’s often a genetic link. Also, watch for a family history of depression or anxiety.

Listen Carefully
Identify how your potential partner communicates. Also pay attention to how he or she handles sticky situations and painful emotions.

Is There Compromise?
If you’re forever giving in, then you’ve got a problem. Compromise is one of the key elements of a healthy relationship.

Is There True Intimacy?
We’re not talking sex here, but the kind of intimacy that comes when he can clean up the vomit when you have the flu; when she invites your mother for Christmas even though he can’t stand the woman; when she has a hot bath and glass of win waiting for you after what he knows was a difficult day.