Married someone you actually didn't love?

You are right. It's a lot about changing the status and fulfilling something. Also, I think is a lot is about companionship (even without the love/attraction part). I wonder how sometimes it works for some people and how it doesn't for others (like the 2 friends I mentioned before). I guess it depends on how high your expectations are, and how you can manage to be happy/content no matter how little you might have.

This is a case to case basis I think other countries like Europe and U.S. they don't care about age anxious. In Asian countries women are very much worried when they reached at the age of 28 to 30 and they feel insecure if they can not marry. Not only they worries about having a husband but a child too. Having a husband that they don't love it's not matter and this depends on the women in the first place because she knew what she is doing. Like most MyLotter says a men will not marry a girl if he don't loved the women. So women should be lucky now despite that they don't loved the guy whom they married but most of the situation men loves them very much and that is I think the most important for couples.

Hi Syndrix. It is true that European or USA women don't feel the SAME level of anxiety. Usually in those type of situations the man marries the woman believing that her feelings for him are stronger.

I think there's a lot of reasons behind it, this is my observation in my country. Mostly in the provinces, women marry at a young age, so when someone is at her mid or late 20's and all their friends are already married, they feel pressured to also get married, sometimes, it also became the basis of beauty. They also think that marrying will help them with their financial situation, having someone to help them with their expenses. Another reason is that, they wanted to have children so that there will be someone to take care of them when they get old.

At least you guys realized about the mistake soon enough. That's something not many people are able to do (at least at the right time), because it takes courage to amend that kind of mistakes.

Waisting too much time before taking the right steps (to start a new life) can somewhat hurt people's confidence on starting new relationships.

It's sad to think that someone is "forced" to get married. It more agreeing to do it out of practicality or convenience, but not forced by anyone else.

That type of situations is not that uncommon in developing countries like yours or my own (Dom. Rep.).

for my opinion we must become practical now. Even the girl not love the man and being forced to married... i think still got chance for them to be happy. I always remember my grandma said before "we cant eat the word "LOVE" If the man is a responsible and loving husband then they will lived happily ever...at the end the love will come we call it eternal LOVE.

In a way, men can marry without love. Men's minds work differently than women's. They do MUST to feel physically attracted to the woman though (even if they don't feel "love" in their hearts).

Men can marry without love but it is a rarity. There is less pressure towards men to marry. Maybe in certain cultures where fix marriages are still enforce I will concede that a man will marry without love. But the greater population of men would not chose this life.

We don't have any biological clock to worry, age is never a problem. Men can have kids even in old age. Our egos prevent us from depending financially on our wife's earning (although there are few exceptions), we like to earn and depend mostly on our own efforts.

LisaGuo, you just presented the "ideal" scenario. Young women don't even need think about this situations. While you are young, you have the time to pick and choose. Only when you are in your 30's (or close to your 40's) and no family is that you will understand why some women do it.

Hi kush20006. Sometimes the love grows into the relationship and the couple is content with what they've got. Some people need more to feel happy, some need less.

but it happens in only 10 percent of cases others result in divorce or forced living

The countries that feel girls are burden and treat them badly are mostly in the Middle East and Asia. In South and Central America you might find a couple of countries too. Is a good thing that the rest of the world is not like that.

Hi triplejazzm51. That's is a very good example of couples that make the best out of that kind of relationships. Also, like I've said before, some people are content with less. It does not require a lot to make them happy (or conformed?)

Yup! but i still believe in marrying because of love. Thanks!

Hi PrincessThinker.

It's very nice to hear this kinds of stories. At the time of your parents this was even more common. I know for sure that after they see their children, and the joy and pround they feel, it's all worth it.

Hi Binthu.

Appreciation is a good word. For a woman, being well treated by her boyfriend/husband, with respect and love, it's priceless.

Some couples are madly in love when they get married, and a few months after, they're killing each other.