STEPS AND WAYS TO DIVORCE PROOF YOUR MARRIAGE

1. DATE AT LEAST 3 YEARS BEFORE PUTTING A RING ON

According to a survey conducted at Emory University. Research shows that couples who date for at least a few years increase their chances of staying together. But don't wait too long—an analysis from the University of Utah found that, for individuals who tie the knot after age 32, the odds of divorce increase by 5 percent per year of age at marriage.

2. WAIT UNTIL AFTER YOUR 23RD BIRTHDAY TO COMMIT

A study in the Journal of Marriage and Family found that people who made their first big commitment—whether moving in together or getting married—at the age of 18 had a 60 percent divorce rate, while those who were at least 23 at the time of commitment experienced a rate of divorce around 30 percent. (This is due, in part, to education levels: Demographer Philip Cohen says divorce is much more common for those less than a college degree.)

3. FIND SOMEONE CLOSE IN AGE

The bigger the age gap between spouses, the more likely they are to get divorced, says a study from Emory University.

4. MARRY A HEALTHY GUY WITH AN EASYGOING PERSONALITY

There's a reason mom wanted you to find a nice boy: Research from the University of Chicago finds that a husband's "agreeable personality" and good health are crucial to relationship longevity in older couples. (Oddly, the same traits in wives don't necessarily limit marital conflict.)

5. LEARN TO COMMUNICATE

Most marital problems can be solved through open communication, a study conducted by a Cornell University gerontologist, surveyed more than 700 individuals wedded for a total of 40 years.

6. DIVIDE HOUSEHOLD CHORES EQUALLY

Spouses who take on their fair share of housework have better sex lives. (And better sex lives lead to happier unions) However, researchers say not all couples benefit from dividing chores—their work focused on equal housework in relation to sex among egalitarian couples, in other words, relationships where both partners work and share domestic responsibilities.

7. KEEP THE FLAME BURNING

Recent research from the American Sociological Association shows that married women seeking affairs, specifically those between the ages of 35 to 45, do so because they're lacking sex and romantic passion in their own marriages.

8. TREAT MARRIAGE AS A LIFELONG COMMITMENT

According to Karl Pillemer, the gerontologist behind the Cornell Marriage Advice Project, spouses must have "mindset [that marriage] is a profound commitment to be respected, even if things go sour over the short term." It is not, Pillemar said, a voluntary partnership that ends when the passion does.

9. HAVE SOME INTERESTS IN COMMON

Couples surveyed in the Cornell Marriage Advice Project also stressed a need for similarities—in interests, background and values. "The most critical need for similarity is in core values regarding potentially contentious issues like child-rearing, how money should be spent and religion.

10. MAKE HAPPINESS A PRIORITY

Turns out there's some truth to the old age "happy wife, happy life." A study from Rutgers University concluded that the more satisfied the wife is with the union, "the happier the husband is with his life no matter how he feels about their nuptials."

That's all. Got any queries? Please write back to me.