femalenetwork.com

Marriage is not happily ever after, they say. It’s actually when the hard, sometimes harsh and sad, aspects of your life as a couple emerge.

But new or soon-to-be married couples need not panic or hesitate on your decision to tie the knot. You just have to realize the hard realities all married couples face and believe that your love will get you through the toughest times—and that that’s not all it takes for that to happen. Hard work, solid trust, and a lot of patience are all very crucial for your marriage to work.

A Redbook article by Ylonda Gault Caviness reprinted in Good Housekeeping's January-February 2008 issue discusses “Eight Things No One Tells You About Marriage” and how these least romantic aspects of your union have the most to teach you. Here are five of them:

1. You will look at your spouse and wonder if this is actually forever.
After you get married, you’ll wake up one day realizing that you’re not always happy with him and wondering if this was really what you wanted in the first place. But marriage is not always one happy story, and the vow "for better and for worse" only hits you when something goes wrong in your life as a married couple. Once you let go of your “happily ever after” fantasies and face the realities of your union, you’ll realize that the realities of your life are far richer and more rewarding than what you dreamed it to be.