Not Every Long Term Relationship has To End in Marriage
Not everyone in a long-term relationship wants to get married. Just because I love someone, it doesn't mean I want to be legally and financially tied to them. I want us to be together for as long as it makes sense (hopefully lifelong!), and if things don't work out, the last thing I want is lawyers getting involved in the breakup and just making things messier.
Fun fact about me: I have a law degree from Oxford. And while I didn't study family law, what I did learn from my time at university is that you can't control someone's behaviour or thoughts just because you made an agreement - you can only enforce consequences.
In my humble opinion, lifelong marriage is becoming increasingly unrealistic because humans are being exposed to more information and people than they ever have in human history, and are therefore more subject to change in a shorter period of time.
I know I love my partner(s) now, but I cannot realistically guarantee that we will always be compatible - and if that time were to ever come, I don't want them to stay with me just because they can't afford to divorce me (or vice versa). And I don't want us to be pettily fighting over finances.
Of course, I say this as someone who doesn't have or want children, and it's definitely more complicated when you have dependents involved because of the people you could affect with your decision-making - but personally, I don't want to get married if I can avoid it for as long as possible. What do you think?
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