Marriage Advice from Real Couples

Maintaining a marriage is a lot of hard work. We turned to social media and asked our followers for tips on how they keep a successful marriage.

Maintaining a marriage is a lot of hard work. Conflicts pop up left and right between finances, home-owning, moving in together, and just making sure you’re both genuinely happy. We turned to social media and asked our followers for tips on how they keep a successful marriage.

Rachael Yurisich “Justin and I are both 30 years old and have been married for nine years. We eloped in California in 2010 after he joined the Air Force and received orders to Germany. After being medically discharged in 2013, we moved to South Dakota and have integrated ourselves into this life here. Like every other marriage, we’ve had our share of ups and downs. We’re totally different people and we often bump heads over even the most trivial of things. However, we often laugh together and eat different cereals, so we’re doing something right! My piece of advice is to touch each other always and build that connection. Even the littlest of touches. Hold his hand while he drives. Put your hand on her back when you’re walking down the sidewalk, or curl your feet together while laying on the couch.”

If you are in Rachel and Justin’s situation, that is being a military family, things can be slightly different. You face different challenges such as moving, reintegration, and more. To learn about successful tips and tools to help in a military marriage, read our previous blogs Ellsworth AFB Offers Tips & Tools for Military Spouses and Beginning Life as a Military Wife.

Diane Schaeffer “I have been married for 32 years, not high school sweethearts but shortly after. My advice would be, talk about everything, leave nothing to guess.”

Here is a good list of conversation starters.

Allison Geier-Barlow “I’ve been married to my husband for a little over a year now. We met in high school, started off as really good friends, and started falling for each other near the end of our high school career. I think the best advice I have is listening to each other and spending quality time together. Something I heard that I really like is this thing called the ‘magic ratio.’ The ratio is 5 to 1. This means that for every bad experience, a happy marriage has five or more good experiences. Conflict is inevitable but refraining on dwelling on the negative is key.”

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Top 5 Tips for a Successful Marriage Everyone’s marriage experience is a little different. No two situations are the same. With that in mind, researchers have put together a list of 25 tips for a successful marriage. Here are five suggestions:

Walk Before you Talk – Conflict is unavoidable, we all know that. The best way to deal with that conflict is with a level head. Don’t talk when you’re both flustered and upset; instead, take a walk around the block or work on a home project in the garage and think about the best way to handle it first.

Work Out Together – With the beautiful Black Hills in our backyard, plan a short hike once a week. It is a great way to spend time together and keep heart-healthy!

Schedule Time Away from Each Other – Having hobbies and friends outside of the marriage improves relationships. You don’t need to spend every waking moment with your significant other – Enjoy an evening out with the girls or a movie night at home while your husband goes to the bar with some co-workers.

Celebrate Small Victories – Drink a cocktail together or simply congratulate one another when you achieve even the simplest of things.

Limit Social Media – Put down the phone and pay attention to one another. Ask each other about work and listen to the good, the bad, the ugly without the distraction of social media.

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Published on Black Hills Bride.