What exactly is a soulmate? It’s a term we hear all the time, yet the deeper meaning often gets lost beneath layers of romantic idealism. At its core, a soulmate is someone who resonates with your inner truth—someone drawn not to your surface-level personality or looks, but to the very soul of who you are. Soulmate relationships are less about flawless chemistry and more about profound spiritual recognition. They nourish you from the inside out, offering a kind of harmony that speaks to your deepest purpose and being.

When you meet your soulmate, they are pulled toward your energy—your true, radiant self and your unshakable devotion to what matters most to you. But here’s a strange twist: the people who are meant for us on the deepest level are often the ones we push away.

It sounds backwards, doesn’t it? You’d think the moment we meet this perfect energetic match, we’d fall effortlessly into their arms. But in reality, what often happens is resistance. We don’t always run to our soulmates—we run from them.

There are countless elements that shape the trajectory of a relationship—how well a couple communicates, their ability to work through challenges, and the simple act of being present when life hits a low note. But beyond the emotional and practical factors that build or break romantic partnerships, there’s another dimension people often overlook when considering long-term commitment: the age at which they choose to marry.

According to Audrey Hope, a celebrity relationship counselor, our sense of timing in love is often heavily influenced by cultural patterns and societal conditioning. “We've been molded to believe the right time to marry is immediately after college—or even right after high school in some communities,” she explains. “It’s like there’s this invisible rulebook, and if we don’t follow the timeline outlined by tradition, we start to feel as if we’re falling behind in life or destined to miss out on love altogether.”