Rebecca Charters* realised her marriage was in trouble when she sat across from her husband on a date night and thought, "I've got nothing to say to you." It was a sign that the seven-year itch had well and truly kicked in. The term, which suggests that happiness in a relationship declines after seven years, gained popularity following the 1955 Marilyn Monroe film of the same name. While 2016 Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that marriages which do end in divorce la

Would you like some date night ideas that are scientifically proven to strengthen your relationship? Well, keep reading because I am about to share my top five date ideas that have the potential to improve your relationship. 1. Take a trip down memory lane Return to the bar you met at or revisit the place you went on your first date. Taking a trip down memory lane helps us to remember what it was like when we fell in love. It also helps us feel more optimistic and inspired a

There is a kiss that holds the potential to strengthen your relationship! Dr. John Gottman recommends that couples share a kiss that lasts for 6 seconds each day. A six second kiss releases a powerful chemical cocktail of oxytocin, norepinephrine, epinephrine and dopamine. These are the love chemicals that make us feel so good! Kissing also has many health benefits, such as, helping to reduce stress, lower your blood pressure, relive headaches and tone your facial muscles! Ma

Your phone use may be slowly destroying your relationship. An increasing number of couples are reporting that they are dissatisfied in their relationships. The reason for this is their partner’s iPhone or smartphone habits. Couples are ignoring their partners in favour of scrolling through social media or chatting to their friends online. Sound familiar? I am seeing almost all of my clients expressing their disdain for their partner’s phone habits. So here are some rules of p

A Harvard University study declared job loss the biggest factor in divorce. Here's what our resident relationship counsellor makes of the findings. According to the findings of a recent study, the kiss of death for your marriage is job loss. Harvard researcher Alexandra Killewald set out to discover the link between work, money and marital stability and in tabulating 45 years’ worth of data on spouses’ division of household labour, their overall financial resources and a wife

Couples who are having great sex do these simple things! Raise your hand if you want to have great sex! Okay, put your hand down, people are staring at you! 70,000 people in 24 countries completed and online survey conducted by Chrisanna Northrup, Pepper Schwartz and James White. This survey helped shine a spotlight onto the sex lives of couples that reported that they had a great sex life. What were they doing that couples unsatisfied with their sex lives were not? Couples a

David, a former pastor, is father of two sons and “husband” (term used loosely) to Jennifer, his wife of 20 years. David recently made headlines when he sensationally confessed in a reality television program that his marriage proposal to Jennifer was a joke. David explained to Jennifer, “You know the manner in which I asked you to marry me? You’re taking it seriously. I didn’t mean it jokingly, but I was joking. I was lying. I accepted your ‘yes’ as a means of feeling normal