Womans rights has caused quite a stir in marriage. Also marriages used to be arranged not to the point of how it is portrayed in movies, but love was not a question. Also women didnt go around having sex as openly as they have progressively in the last 200 years. When man and woman became husband and wife whether arranged or through choice the woman was a virgin or she had only slept with her betrothed. Sex always makes things more complicated. And now more younger people confuse lust for love. And so they get married because the sex is good. But then once the sex is gone they realize that their heart is not in the relationship. So they divorce or worse one of the partners seeks alternative outlets to provide them with that feeling they had at the begining of the relationship. Or the alternative is that because women have become power houses in the work place, some men take the lesser role. And it can become an issue in the household. Some men are bums and refuse to work because the woman makes more money. That can make a man feel inferior to the woman and it adds strain and conflict if the man is not pulling his weigh. Imagine this, the woman works a full time job, comes home to her husband and maybe kids. She has to clean house, tend to the kids needs, and do the shopping and bill paying. All while the husband kicks up his feet and does nothing. That is what the younger society is coming to in general. There are many men who provide for house and home. But a great number are falling into the other category. That i believe is why marriages are so stained plus the added loss of jobs. Its only going to get worse.

I don't think it's just the younger people.... there are a lot of young people who are working on their marriages/relationships. They are struggling to do what they believe is right for them in a changing society. I know of many in my age group who walk out of a 20/30 year marriage also.

I agree I never meant to imply age specifics here I just see it as an across the board change for the worse .But then again I said I was an old fashioned romantic ! And Gypsy no closet space for you !Unless there is that cabana girl position yet to be filled !

"Marriage has changed more in the last 35 years than in the previous 3,500 years according to noted author and historian Stephanie Coontz. As individuals and as a society, we are still trying to sort out the consequences of these changes and how to cope with them.
For thousands of years, marriage was a NOT about love and mutual respect but about property, power and male dominance. It was only 200 years ago that love began to be central to the definition of marriage, and only 100 years ago that we began the long march to equality between men and women. ....marriage has become fairer and more fulfilling than in the past, but also more optional and fragile".