A 1992 experiment by John Gottman discovered that certain indicators on how couples interacted in their relationship could forecast which pairs would stay together and which ones would not with 94 percent accuracy. This held true for couples across age, religion, and socioeconomic backgrounds. He watched and monitored couple interaction and noticed something interesting when partners would make requests for connection, something he called “bids.” These were efforts by the spo

Where do long lasting and mutually respecting relationships come from? Are they figments of Hollywood’s imagination? Is there a genie that grants happily ever afters? Of course, we know the answer to these questions. Loving and lasting relationships do not suddenly appear overnight, but are forged after many years of commitment and mutual respect. They evolve as couples continuously transform and redefine the definition of what their relationship is and what it means to them.

Today, it is estimated one out of every two marriages will result in divorce. This is up significantly from 1950, when the divorce rate was about 22-24 percent. Why has the rate gone up so much in the last half century? A couple plausible explanations reflect today’s societal changes. These are rushed or impulsive marriages when two people do not fully know and understand one another. They happen because it seems like a good idea at the time. They are often short lived. We l