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Opinions of Friday, 27 February 2015

Columnist: Linda Abrefi Wadie

Does age really matter in marriage?

Marriage they say is a union between a man and woman. It is also a commitment and a promise of love to one another. Even though it comes with its own ups and downs it is a beautiful experience.

Of late while there are a lot of people who are towing the marriage lane, thousands are divorcing due to one reason or the other. But the question is why get married and end up divorcing?

Men mostly blame the women for being the cause of the divorce to many reasons. Age is most important thing that causes divorce in marriage and most important thing couples need to bear in mind. But most people do not really keep that in mind because of what they feel for their opposite sex.

According to other research, the age difference between couples should be seven years minimum, three years maximum. The man being the head of the family must always be older than the opposite sex.This is because hormones in women grow faster as compared to men and if the age difference is not more than the woman, she becomes weak and older.

Ultimately, 25-35 is the age at which women begin bearing children which is the biggest factor in survival. Younger women, in general, bear more healthy children. Marrying an older woman or much older man is proved the most harmful to reproductive success.

Most people argue that love conquers all, with love and understanding they can be the best couple and live long. Men marry younger women and women prefer to marry older men in general. But it is culture, genetics or the environment that drives such a choice and is there an optimal age difference?

The potential success of the marriage really does depend upon the maturity and experience level of those who are in love. The simple truth is that, there is no magic age differential when it comes to love and marriage. However, our experience tells us that the closer in age two people in love are, the greater their chances of developing a love that lasts. Whether it is one year, five years, ten, or more, true love trumps everything else. More importantly, age matters far less in a relationship than love. Love is timeless, of that you can be sure.

Marriage goes beyond what you feel for each other now, think about the next 10-15 years. Compare men and women of 45-50years old; compare their looks, mental state, loyalty, emotional status etc. At 50, most women look older and more matured than their male counterparts and most times would have lost their interest in sex, but men even at 70 still chase 25year old girls.

In my opinion, I think the age difference should be seven years minimum and three years maximum.