Beverly married her long-time best friend and sweetheart, but knew her marriage was doomed for divorce while on the ride home from the honeymoon as her husband rattled off his list of demands of her now that she was his wife. She looked at the stranger she’d married and knew she wouldn’t remain married to him for much longer. She wasn’t. What happened? A study published in 2003 noted that hormonal stress levels during the newlywed years were related to marital satisfaction and dissolution 10 years later. One’s stressed reaction to stressful events impacts marriage. The high divorce rate is a concern for many Americans. This research reveals that it is time that newlyweds learned the art of destressing techniques and other coping mechanism because there are some things that aren’t conquered simply by love.

Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Bane C, Glaser R, Malarkey WB. Love, marriage, and divorce: newlyweds’ stress hormones foreshadow relationship changes. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2003 Feb;71(1):176-88. PubMed PMID: 12602438.