Getting married is a big step—they don’t call it taking the plunge for nothing. The person you choose as a life partner will, in one way or another, affect every aspect of your life: your mental health, your peace of mind, how you get through tragedies and celebrate triumphs, how your children (should you choose to have them) will be raised, and more. The weight of these aspects of your life, not to mention the countless others you’ll share with a partner, makes the advice to “choose wisely” seem like an understatement.
Still, the reasons we choose a partner are numerous and complicated. Whether you’re single or in a relationship, you’ve probably heard your fair share of unsolicited marriage advice from the well-intentioned (or sometimes jaded) wedded people in your life.
It can be difficult to filter through this advice for nuggets of wisdom, and even more challenging to take an objective look at your own motivations and see them for what they really are. Sometimes, your real intentions are buried a few layers deep, and you need something to gently shake them to the surface for you.
10 Reasons Why You Should Get Married
10. Marriage makes you live longer
One of the ways that getting married improves your life is by making it last longer. Various studies have indicated that happily married men tend to outlast their single counterparts. For example, a 2006 study performed by University of California researchers contended that single people are five times more likely to die of infectious disease, nearly 40% more likely to die of heart disease and twice as likely to die accidentally. Other studies suggest that the rate of mortality is a whopping 250% higher among single men than it is among married men.
9. Marriage increases your earning power
You know that big-screen TV you've been saving for? Well, if you were married, you'd probably own it by now. Being married means sharing expenses and splitting the costs of major purchases. You cynics out there gripe about the money women cost you, but the money you'd spend on dinner dates and the occasional gift is dwarfed by the prospect of having an extra income in the household. Marriage means you can afford the things you could never afford on your own; it means a better home, a better car, a better holiday.
8. Marriage gives you a platform to build your bloodline on
OK, so technically you don't need to be married to have a family, but marriage is still the standard method for starting a family. The nuclear family, despite its flaws, remains a sought-after model. That's why having kids is another argument in our top 10 reasons to get married. Being a father is a dimension of manhood that just about every man wants to experience — and marriage is the most stable and secure environment in which to start a family.
7. Marriage prevents you from dying alone
Sure, you're on a hot streak right now, dating 20-year-old yoga instructors and bi-curious baristas, but we both know that's not going to last forever. How's being single going to work out for you when you're 60, when you have hair in all of the wrong places and no one can stand to look at you? Marriage is an investment in your future. Sure, you sacrifice some of your sweet single years, but in exchange you get to make a long-term investment in one person, building a deep, abiding love that has the potential to last a lifetime.
6. Marriage makes you more attractive
As our own Justin Prugh covered in his article, Why Do Single Women Like Taken Men, married men are more attractive to other women. Now, we're not suggesting that you should get married purely because it will make it easier to score with other women, but we are suggesting that marriage makes you appealing to the opposite sex. Because getting attention from beautiful women feels good, it's a confidence booster. Plus, when you go out with all of your single buddies, all of the hot women will be hitting on you. Who's laughing now?
5. Marriage brings financial benefits
There are numerous financial benefits associated with matrimony. For starters, there are tax breaks for married couples as well as for families. Getting married might also mean getting access to things like her premium health insurance plan. Like it or not, society is designed to make life easier for married couples. If you're single, you're out of luck. That's another argument in our top 10 reasons to get married.
4. Marriage means more sex
According to several studies, married men have more sex than single men do. A study done by the Kinsey Institute, for example, suggests that 23% of non-married men periodically go a year without sex, while only 1% of married men experience 12-month dry spells. Similarly, while 19% of single guys have sex two to three times a week, 36% of married men have sex that often. So, while single guys are out at the clubs, spending their pay cheques just to get a girl's attention, married men are home having sex with their wives.
3. Marriage means better sex
are exciting because of the thrill of the chase, granted, but often — too often — once the two of you get naked you find yourselves fumbling and bumbling unable to anticipate each others’ moves and unaware of what gets the other off. Married couples know each other; they have a feel for each others’ bodies and are aware of their partner's fantasies. Consequently, married sex is better than single sex. Further, a long, stable relationship lends itself to sexual experimentation. Admit it; there are things you'd love to try in bed that you've never told anyone because you were afraid of being judged. But in a long-term relationship founded on trust, you can give voice to your innermost desires.
