Category Archives: marriage advice

Emma Willis reveals the secret to her 10-year marriage

  Marriage & Divorce, marriage advice

We know that every relationship is unique but with that said it’s always good to get tips from other married couples about how they keep their bond strong throughout the years.
 
One person with a top piece of marriage advice is TV presenter Emma Willis, who has been wed to musician Matt Willis for 10 years. Together, the pair have three children – Isabelle, nine, Ace, six and Trixie, two.
 
Speaking to Red magazine about how she and Matt keep their marriage strong, Emma recommends one simple thing – laughter.

“We’ve seen each other at our best and conversely at our worst, and that gives any relationship more meaning. I still fancy him to bits and he makes me laugh,” Emma said.
 
“I suppose the best way I can describe it is that he is home to me. When I’m with him I feel like I’m home, wherever we are,” the TV presenter went on.
 

Dear Abby: Open road call to husband, but not wife

  Marriage & Divorce, marriage advice

DEAR ABBY: My wife and I have been married for 42 years. For the most part, we have had a good marriage. We raised two children, are helping to raise three grandchildren and still enjoy each other’s company.

I am retiring shortly and looking forward to enjoying it. For years I have anticipated being free to travel the country and see things I didn’t have the time to see when I was employed. The problem is, I like the idea of seeing the country via road trip. My wife says she’s a “homebody” and doesn’t want to be “stuck in the car” for a week.

Several friends have suggested I should take my road trips without my wife. I don’t really want to do that, and she says that if I did, she would feel deserted. How can I be a good husband and spend time with my wife, and not feel cheated out of something I have wanted to do for so long? – HEADED FOR THE OPEN ROAD

DEAR HEADED: I can’t help thinking about how many widows would give anything to share an adventure like that with their husband. I also don’t think leaving one’s spouse for a week qualifies as desertion. Many husbands and wives do it regularly to conduct their business. Perhaps if you return from one of your excursions with tales of how beautiful and interesting the road trip was, it will pique her interest.

P.S. If the problem is that your vehicle is too small, have you considered renting something larger to give your wife more room to stretch out?

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been together for almost 20 years. With every year that passes, I fall more in love with him. He’s a wonderful person who treats me very well.

I could go on and on about how caring and considerate he is. However, when it comes to being intimate, I’m just not interested. I have known him for so long and know him so well that, for me, the “spark” is extinguished. In some ways, he almost feels like a brother, which makes it difficult to have sexual feelings.

I tell him many times a day that I love him, because I do. I want him to know he’s my best friend and I care deeply about him. We have tried role playing, games, sexy clothing, etc. – nothing helps me. I go through the motions when I must, because I know it is one of the ways he expresses his love for me.

I don’t want to be with anyone else. I just want to know how I can feel excited about being intimate again. Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. – EXTINGUISHED SPARKS

DEAR EXTINGUISHED: My suggestion would be to have a frank talk with your OB/GYN about this, and ask for a referral to an endocrinologist – a doctor who specializes in hormones. If, after a checkup, your hormone balances are what they should be, some sessions with a psychologist for you – and a sex therapist for both of you – might relight the spark that has fizzled. It’s worth a try.

Why Egyptian men view marriage today as regrettable choice

  Marriage & Divorce, marriage advice

CAIRO – 25 June 2018: While Egyptian classic films, trying to emulate reality, mainly focused on couples loving each other, ending up married or dying trying to reach that noble goal amid fierce obstacles, perhaps film makers of the obviously decreasing romantic films have concluded that marriage nowadays is not a happy destiny anymore.

With the emergence of the idea of creating Facebook closed groups to include men or women only, each of the two sexes started to feel freer to express themselves.

On Facebook groups for MEN ONLY, numerous posts can be published a day for a man whose wedding date is nearing, asking other experienced and inexperienced men for advice. It is widely recognized that most comments on these posts are scary for every unmarried man who may watch perhaps 90 percent of the replies warning him of marriage, with “DON’T EVER” on top of the list.

To be objective, disputes between married couples were always portrayed in Egyptian classic films, mainly in a funny way. However, there is one way to know whether what is happening nowadays between wives and husbands is normal; it is statistics.

Divorce rates in Egypt increased 83 percent from 1996, according to the statistics collected in 2016 by Egypt’s official Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

In a February report, CAPMAS found that divorce rates increased by 6.5 percent in December 2017, compared to December 2016. The number of divorce forms issued in December 2017 was 14,000, compared to 13,000 during the same month of 2016.

Marriage rates witnessed a relative increase as well, but the rate of separations was much more than any other measured by CAPMAS. Marriage rates increased by 4.3 percent in December 2017, compared to the rate measured in December 2016.



Perhaps this explains a widely adopted opinion that appears in the comments on the kind of posts mentioned above, stating that marriage, however, is inevitable; many men advise the youth to enjoy their lives first and then surrender for their final deadly destiny of marriage.

The problem is that Egyptian young men do not have the chance to enjoy their lives before marriage. They have to choose between enjoying their youth and marriage, that is what one of the men on a private group thinks about marriage.



Marriage is not bad, but life is hard. How would you bear the expenses of marriage and life after marriage? Another user said, complaining about the unsatisfying economic situation in the country and the continuous price hike.

One of the most significant traditions in Arab countries, including Egypt, is that many parents can reject a man who wants to marry their daughter, because he is poor, he does not own a luxurious apartment, he does not have a prestigious car, or he cannot offer a comparatively valuable “shabka.” It is jewelry granted by the man before he is affianced to the woman he wishes to marry. “Shabka” is claimed to be a gift. However, men find themselves obligated to buy them for their future fiancées in most cases.

Numerous Egyptian men have been spotted on public and private groups advising other men to marry Syrian women who have resorted to Egypt since the violent incidents in Syria, as they do not ask for “shabka” or other elusive expenses before and after marriage.




Marrying an Egyptian woman ends up in the court, another user said due to the high rate of divorce recently.

You should know that after marriage you become occupied by an inevitable enemy that would subsequently waste your youth. After marriage, you should work on securing your children’s future and make sure they do not repeat your mistake, another person sarcastically said.

Following marriage, you would find yourself saving money just to buy diapers, a user, apparently has children, said.

Recently a user has accessed the group and asked people who have been married about the things they miss the most after marriage? A considerable number of comments just said: “single life” and “divorce”.

Although most of the reasons are obviously related to financial issues, many men think that social problems between couples worsen the situation. Men complain that involving one of the parents in the couple’s private problems is very common and disastrous.



Probably one of the weirdest reasons why Egyptian men hate marriage is that they claim that Egyptian women are “cranky”. Most men think that women are not burdened with financial responsibility and therefore they do not have a reason to be bad-tempered.

Not all the comments were pessimistic. Yet, perhaps the majority on social media now thinks that marriage wastes youth, money and is not good for psychological health.

Chatting with a girl on a private group for ladies only, she told Egypt Today that a similar phenomenon is not recognized in their groups. She said that girls frequently ask questions related to marriage. However, they ask for advice concerning body care and other similar issues.



Apparently, with the same token, girls do not find the same problems with marriage, as in the Middle East, women in general are not socially obliged to work in order to get money for the family members.

We cannot ignore that many Egyptian and Arab wives work in order to help their husbands financially. However, most of them think they would not be blamed if they decided to resign or if they lost their jobs. Both men and women in the Middle East know they do not have the same responsibilities.

Dear Abby: Woman is put in the middle of an affair

  Marriage & Divorce, marriage advice

DEAR ABBY: I have two friends I am equally close to, “Jane” and “Mary.” We live in the same neighborhood. They are both married, live across the street from each other and spend time together almost every day. Their children play together. I spend a lot of time with both families, and my children play with theirs.

Jane is having an affair with Mary’s husband and has confided in me about every detail. She keeps telling me it’s over, and then I find out it isn’t. I spoke to Mary’s husband and told him if it doesn’t stop, I’ll tell Mary. (Jane doesn’t know I talked to him.)

They recently had another “weak moment.” Should I tell Mary what’s going on? Her husband has cheated in the past, and she chose to stay with him. I’m afraid the fallout from her finding out will be two broken marriages and several broken friendships. It’s very difficult to spend time with any/all of them knowing what I know. I feel like my silence is betraying Mary. Help! – WISH I DIDN’T KNOW

DEAR WISH: You are already more involved in this than you should be, and Jane should not have placed you in that position. Mary knows she has a philandering husband but chose to remain with him. I vote for keeping your lip zipped and trying to stay out of the line of fire.

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been married for 38 years. We divorced once, but remarried. We have four grown sons and six grandchildren.

He retired a year and a half ago, and I went through menopause. There has been constant contention since. He wants to fight over everything and won’t speak to me for days, sometimes weeks, at a time. I feel I am being emotionally abused. When I asked him for another divorce, he told me not to be ridiculous.

Four months ago, I moved out and moved in with my dad to be his caretaker. Dad is 95 and on home hospice.

I am so much happier not living with my husband. When my father passes away, I dread having to move back with my husband. I know we probably need counseling, but he doesn’t agree.

I want to live a happy, peaceful life. My husband seems to enjoy the constant fighting. Should I get my own place and live apart from my husband when my dad passes? – UNHAPPILY MARRIED IN UTAH

DEAR UNHAPPILY MARRIED: Your husband’s silent treatment qualifies as emotional abuse. You do NOT have to tolerate it. Before making plans about where you will live after your father’s passing, discuss this with a lawyer. Marriage isn’t slavery, and you do not need your abuser’s “permission” to divorce him (again).

DEAR ABBY: I am suddenly encountering workplace hostility from someone I thought was my friend. I’m not sure if I did something to offend this person or if there is some other reason. What can I do to get to the bottom of this? – UNCOMFORTABLE IN TEXAS

DEAR UNCOMFORTABLE: It says in the Bible, “Seek and you shall find.” In your case, it means ASK the person what’s going on and why there has been a change in attitude. That’s the quickest way to learn the reason.

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