4 Terrible Reasons to Get Married (And 4 Really Good Ones)

Y ears ago, I thought of myself as someone who would probably never get married. I thought I was just “wired” for relationships that were fun but ultimately short-lived. I dated a lot, slept around, and always had an exit strategy.

Fast forward to today and as a happily married man, I’m honestly surprised by how easy it was for me to transition to a committed, life-long relationship. In fact, it feels damn good!

The truth is, while I did a lot of work on myself, a lot of it was just looking for a good partner.

I get hundreds of emails each year from people struggling in their relationships. And a lot of those people are either engaged or thinking about getting married. I often want to wave a giant neon flag at them shouting, “Don’t do it!” because getting married for the wrong reasons can have dire consequences — not just emotionally, but financially, as well.

After working with dozens of couples on this issue, I’ve put together two checklists below that summarize everything. The first checklist is the BAD reasons people get married. The second checklist outlines the GOOD reasons to get married. Check it out.

Terrible Reasons to Get Married

Most of these horrible reasons to get married will probably seem obvious and maybe even a little ridiculous. But for a lot of us, it’s really hard to take an objective look at our own motivations and see them for what they really are.

Sometimes, your real intentions are hidden a few layers deep and you just need someone to lovingly shake them to the surface for you.

So here, let me help you with that.

Terrible Reason to Get Married #1: To Solve Your Relationship Problems

For some reason, a lot of people seem to think that something magical happens when you get married and all the fights and toxic cycles of behavior disappear.

This is tragically misguided.