You know that famous "seven-year itch" marriages are supposed to have? That's when the magic fades and you become dissatisfied and, well, itchy. I'd always assumed it was just a myth, but apparently it's real -- with just one difference: It's actually a 10-year itch. And wait until you hear what causes that itch!
The children, of course.
Researchers from Brigham Young University surveyed 2,000 married women and found that they were at their most unhappy in their marriages at the 10-year mark. It will not shock anyone with kids to know that this is the point in many marriages where women are deepest in the throes of jugging childcare, work, and household responsibilities.
Dang kids, ruining our marriages! I knew it. I just knew it.
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But hang on, there's hope at the end of this story. Five years later, when your little tyrants are older and more independent, happiness levels rise again. And then, once the kids are out of the house, most women have practically stopped arguing with their husbands at all!
(Because they're living completely separate lives by this point -- haha, just kidding! I hope.)
No but seriously, I think everyone who is at that low point in their marriage needs to hear this: It won't feel this way forever! It will get easier to connect with your husband or long-term partner. And it's not just you. This is something many other women go through, too. So hang in there.
Do you feel like you're in that "itch" period in your marriage, or do you feel happy as ever?
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