Love experts

Experts in marriage are often the ones who have been there, done that and stayed married and in love over decades. It’s easy to fall in love, but to stay there takes choice, commitment, flexibility and creativity.

Below are a collection of the common pieces of advice that stand the test of time and make for life long love. It is never too late to improve a relationship, so if yours needs work, then start today. If you have other gems of wisdom to contribute, please leave them in the comments below!

• Make your spouse a priority. Give your best to each other, not your leftovers after you’ve given your best to everyone else.
• Choose to love each other, even in those moments when you struggle to like each other. Love is a decision, not a feeling.
• Always answer the phone when your husband/wife is calling. Your spouse is always more important than your schedule.
• Share moments of joy – make laughter the soundtrack of your marriage, and even in the hard times, find reasons to laugh
• Surround yourself with people who will strengthen and encourage your marriage.
• Remove yourself from temptations which cause you to compromise your character.
• Arguments do not need a “winner” and a “loser.” As partners in life, you stand to win together or lose together. Work together to find a solution.
• In a strong marriage, both parties are rarely strong at the same time. It’s usually a matter of taking turns being strong for each other in the moments when the other feels weak.
• Prioritise sex. It takes more than sex to build a strong marriage, but it’s nearly impossible to build a strong marriage without it.
• When you’ve made a mistake, admit it and apologise fully. If you accept an apology, move on and don’t refer back to it in another argument.
• Model the kind of marriage that will make your sons want to grow up to be good husbands, and your daughters want to grow up to be good wives.
• Be your spouse’s best friend, not his/her biggest critic.
• Don’t put your marriage on hold while you’re raising your kids or else you’ll end up with an empty nest and an empty marriage.
• Be patient with each other. When you have to choose between saying nothing or saying something mean to your spouse, say nothing every time.