Everyone’s timeline for settling down is different, and for some, that time may never come. However, when one is ready to start thinking about marriage, they should also start thinking about ways to mitigate the chances of divorce. Of course, this means working on themselves, like through therapy and counseling, but it also means paying attention to those microinteractions between potential future spouses.
Paying attention saves time
During a divorce, it is often said that their spouse changed. And, there may be some truth to this for those divorcees who have been together for decades. After all, over time, we all change, but successful marriages have spouses who change and grow together, not apart. This is why paying close attention to microinteraction, beginning on the very first date can help suss out whether that date is a potential spouse.
What can be done on the first date?
Many people know to look for warning signs of self-absorption (only talking about themselves), prior relationship hang-ups (talks incessantly about a former relationship), constantly on their phones, answering calls during the date, etc. However, one TikTok relationship expert gave us all a new warning sign that requires us to be proactive.
Offer to pay, and then, see how your date reacts to the offer. If they try to pay themselves, give some pushback or even accept graciously, then that is a good sign. On the other hand, if they accept (without any push back), or worse yet, act incredulous or entitled to your payment, then this person is not likely marriage material. Just imagine how bad that attitude will be after years together if it is already there when you two barely know each other.
Avoiding divorce later can be done by work now
The key takeaway for our Gulfport, Mississippi, readers from this new advice is that doing more work upfront and paying more attention early can help us avoid heartbreak later. In other words, paying attention to these microinteractions can help us avoid the person we would divorce later.
Of course, this does not mean creating fake scenarios to test their reactions. These tests always backfire, which is why simply making it a point to pay attention can achieve much better results.