30 People Who Have Been In A Committed Long-Term Relationship Shared What Ended It

Brides magazine notes that based on data collected in 2022, the average American man who gets married is 30.1 years old, while women are around 28.2 years old. This is a very different cultural and social dynamic compared to half a century ago. In 1970, the typical man got married when they were 23.2 years old. For women, it was 20.8 years of age.

"Many couples are both working and building their careers and are choosing to postpone weddings due to the time and effort involved," marriage and family therapist Rebecca Hendrix, from New York, told Brides.

These days, couples generally date for two to five years before popping the big question and getting engaged. Then, it takes around a year to a year and a half before they actually get married.

According to Hendrix, as well as a Pew Research study, most couples who live together do so with the intent to get married. For them, cohabitation is a big step toward tying the knot. Meanwhile, some couples have lived together for so long that they consider themselves unofficially married. For them, having a wedding often happens only if they decide to have kids.

Meanwhile, Marriage.com notes that the average length of a relationship before marriage in the US depends on a person’s age, cultural background, as well as individual preferences.

How long any romantic relationship will last will depend on the couple’s ability to communicate with each other, how much mutual trust and respect there is, how they resolve conflicts, and whether they have values in common. To put it simply, honesty, openness, and respect give couples a better chance than secrecy and selfishness.

According to Love to Know, teenagers typically only date for a few months, as they’re still finding themselves, but young adults in their 20s get into relationships that last two to four years.

Generally, the more support couples get from their social networks, the more likely their relationships are to prosper and last longer.

But broadly speaking, the length of a relationship also has to do with a person’s character, circumstances, and goals, not just their age. We probably all know couples who are still going strong after getting together still in school, as well as older individuals who hop from relationship to relationship without ever truly settling down.

Out of all of your failed relationships, which ones lasted the longest, dear Pandas? Why did they fall apart? Do you think there was anything that could’ve helped salvage everything?

On the flip side, if you’re still with your partner and everything’s going strong, what do you do to keep the relationship healthy? What advice would you give new couples who are completely new to dating? Share your thoughts in the comments.