Pre-marriage doubts can cast a long shadow in your marriage
As far as instincts go, maybe more of us should follow our hearts. That’s because a recent study out of UCLA found that those to-be-betrothed who get cold feet ended up divorced two-thirds of the time, so if you’re having creeping doubts before even stepping foot in an altar, it may be time to reconsider.
The study followed 464 couples from the LA region over a four-year span. First they asked if either member of each couple had the infamous cold feet, and 47% of men and 38% of women caught it at some point during the engagement period.
Overall, 12% of the married couples divorced, but when they began to break down the number, the researchers found something interesting along gender lines. Of the group of women who said they didn’t get cold feet before the wedding, only 8% got divorced. However, in what the UCLA scientists called a “significant trend,” 19% of the women who did get cold feet before saying “I do” got divorced in the four-year period. On the men’s side, which the researchers didn’t deem significant, those numbers were 8% and 14%, respectively.
Well then, what’s the conclusion? After poring over the numbers, the authors of the study decided that it’s women’s intuition about relationship matters that gave them the higher numbers of prepared divorcees in the end. However, because the couples’ memories may have been a little off as to what kind of doubts they had, the numbers may be a little skewed. In any case, if you are having doubts, make sure to share them with your soon-to-be-spouse before becoming man and wife.