State of Our Unions

It is so fitting that the Style section of the New York Times, the one on Sunday that features the Vows column and the paid wedding announcements, would also be tracking how well these marriages turn out. A front-page article trumpeted a Pew Research survey that the wedding bells are ringing far shorter than you may think. The length of your happy nuptials after all that wedding business is three quick years. The reason? Women's economic independence, for one. That's what the Times said, and I think they even meant it as a compliment. But it's not really. It means that women don't have to be married, so we split if things don't work out our way. We only stay if we're happy, see.

Another reason: women and men are actually not getting married, or getting married later. Or having kids out of wedlock.

My favorite wedding advice has always been: wait 10 years. It's what Larry and I did. And hey, our fifth anniversary is coming up, so my theory must be working.