Anna Maria Richards
In the U.S. right now, there are 2,236,496 married couples.
Are you thinking about becoming one of them?
First, it helps to know if you’re truly ready for marriage. It can be easy to imagine the wedding—a fun party with all your friends and family, drinks and a buffet, dancing and laughing. But marriage is another story altogether—it’s navigating ups and downs, trials and tribulations, growing and changing, maybe having children.
So, before you pop the question, check out these five signs you’re ready for the commitment!
1. You Trust Each Other
Long gone are the days of insecure text messages, ranging from the milder, “What r u doing right now?” to the extreme, “Why haven’t u texted back yet!?”
You’ve each grown up—separately and together—and with that, have built a beautiful foundation of trust.
When your spouse leaves to hang out with their friends, you’re happy for them, not jealous. When they need to take a weekend-long work trip, you’re anxiously awaiting their arrival home, not blowing up their phone with missed calls.
Trust is arguably one of the most important aspects of a lasting marriage.
2. You Can Discuss the Big Topics
We’re not talking about, “What do you want for dinner tonight?”
Instead, have you and your spouse had more significant talks? You know—whether you want to have kids someday, how you spend or save your money; where you expect to live in 5-10 years.
Your relationship, while utterly important in its present tense, needs to have a future, too. It helps to know what each of you wants from life and whether your dreams line up.
And speaking of the future. . .
3. You Imagine Them in Your Future Plans
When you consider your life twenty years from now, is your significant other in it?
If it’s hard for you to imagine yourself with your partner years down the line, you may not be ready for marriage just yet.
And that’s okay, too—just hold off shopping for engagement rings until you can see yourself navigating the world together.
4. You’re Comfortable with Yourself
Part of building that trust and faith in each other comes from being happy with yourself.
At this stage in your life, you’ve grown, you love yourself, and you’re content being alone. Being in a codependent relationship is not the same as being in a contented marriage. If you’re only marrying the other person for fear of being alone, it’s time to do some soul searching first.
5. You’ve Discussed Marriage
And the tell-all of all tell-alls?
If you’ve discussed getting married and you’re both excited about it, the odds are high that you’re both ready for marriage.
Congratulations!
If You Align With These Signs, You’re Ready for Marriage
The easy answer would be, “When you know, you know.”
But marriage is more than that simple catch-all phrase.
If you want to make sure you’re ready for marriage, you need to answer some essential questions—some of which are outlined above, and some of which you may still need to discover.
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