A journalist and author's musings on love, marriage, divorce and life
Posted in Consensual nonmonogamy, Expectations, Infidelity, Relationships, Sex on May 23rd, 2017
“Is an open marriage a happier marriage,” a recent New York Times magazine cover story written by Susan Dominus asked. With a headline and topic like that, of course it went viral — as if no one ever considered that consensual nonmonogamy has existed for decades and, yes, it might actually be a good thing […]
Posted in Children, Expectations, Love, Marriage, Relationships, Sex, Stereotypes on Apr 18th, 2017
Back when my New I Do co-author and I were doing research for our book and interviewing engaged couples about why they wanted to wed (most were already living together), one groom-to-be mentioned sex among the many reasons. “You want to marry for sex?” his fiancee asked, somewhat horrified. He immediately got sheepish as he […]
Posted in Children, Divorce, Expectations, Family, Marital plan, Marriage, Mothers, Parenting, Relationships, Wife on Apr 11th, 2017
A few months ago, singer Janet Jackson made news by becoming a first-time mother at age 50, to a baby boy Eissa. This week, she made news again — she and her husband, Qatari businessman Wissam Al Mana, have separated. According to Page Six, a family source said Jackson became aware of cultural problems between […]
Posted in Divorce, Expectations, Marriage, Men, Relationships, Sex, Women on Apr 4th, 2017
What would you be willing to do to have an affair-proof marriage? Would you go so far as Vice President Mike Pence, whose agreement with his wife, Karen — both evangelical Christians — became public last week? The Washington Post reported, “In 2002, Mike Pence told the Hill that he never eats alone with a […]
Posted in Children, Divorce, Expectations, Infidelity, Marriage, Politics, Relationships, Sex on Mar 28th, 2017
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have evidently bounced back from a much-publicized “strained period” during which she almost filed for divorce. Affleck recently finished rehab in hopes of becoming a better father. They’re not back together, People reports, but a source described as close to Garner said the actress has backed off from filing for […]
Posted in Expectations, Live Apart Together, Marriage, Midlife, Relationships on Mar 21st, 2017
The secret to a happy marriage may mean living apart together in separate master suites, a recent Wall Street Journal article declared. Not everyone lives in a “4,700 square-foot Tudor home” or wants to, but without a doubt, more people, especially older people (like — *sigh* — me) are interested in having a room — […]
Posted in Caregiving, Children, Expectations, Family, Fathers, Men, Mothers, Parenting, Relationships, Women on Mar 14th, 2017
Scarlett Johansson recently declared in a Playboy interview that monogamy wasn’t natural, which may or may not be why she’s divorcing her husband of barely two years, Romain Dauriac. The couple have a child together, 2-year-old Rose, and according to news reports, it appears as if they are heading toward a nasty custody battle. None […]
Posted in Children, Divorce, Expectations, Marital plan, Midlife, Relationships on Mar 7th, 2017
We’re approaching the time of year when high school seniors start getting acceptance letters from colleges and universities, a nerve-wracking time for sure. But increasingly, seniors are taking a year off before starting high school, known as a gap year — most famously of late Malia Obama. Research has shown that teens who take a […]
Posted in Expectations, Love, Marriage, Men, Relationships, Sex, Wife, Women on Feb 14th, 2017
Oh, Suzanne Venker. Your marriage was in trouble. You admit that your “alpha ways were bumping up against” your husband’s “alpha nature,” that you were “like two bulls hanging out in the same pen together, and there was too much friction.” So you decided you needed to become more feminine because it worked in your […]
Posted in Consensual nonmonogamy, Expectations, Love, Marriage, Relationships, Sex on Feb 7th, 2017
If we are to take the new 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll on marriage to heart, then Americans are still stuck in some sort of happily-ever-after rom-com version of wedded bliss. But like a lot of polls, the ways questions are phrased, what gets asked and what doesn’t, and who gets asked and who doesn’t have […]
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