A couples therapist has revealed the best age to get married in order to avoid divorce.
There are many things which are the building blocks of maintaining a healthy marriage, or indeed any other long term relationship.
It could be trust, communication, having each others' backs, but it seems that the age at which you get hitched may actually have some bearing on the outcome.
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Or at least, people who get married at a certain age appear to have lower divorce rates.
Lori Gottlieb, who is a LA-based psychotherapist, recently appeared on The Diary of a CEO podcast to discuss some of the factors which might have an impact on a relationship.
And one of the topics she brought up was when to get married.
So when exactly is the best age to tie the knot?
Well, there's apparently a period at which things look good, then they get better each year, then fall off again.
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Gottlieb, who wrote the New York Times bestseller Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, revealed that getting hitched in your early 20s may not actually be the best idea.
She referenced a study by the Institute of Family Studies which found the best time to get married is between the ages of 25 to 30, as 'someone who marries at 25 is 50 percent less likely to get divorced than someone who weds at age 20'.
Explaining why, Gottlieb said: "It's obvious about marrying too young, that you don't have the skills and you’re not established in your own life, you don't necessarily have the maturity."
However, she noted that things do change as you get older.
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Gottlieb said: "But once you get into your mid to late 20s, it's an optimal time because you have a better sense of who you are.
"You know more of what you want and you can grow together as a couple."
She added: "You are going to have more shared experiences and you are going to know more about each other. Your parents are probably still alive on each side, you can get to know siblings, more integrated into each other's lives."
That all sounds very positive! However, it's also important to note that, according to Gottlieb, there is a limited shelf life to this.
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In practice, that means after a certain age - which the study found was 32 - this benefit apparently starts to dissipate.
She continued: "We also have a history as we get older, we have more negative experiences of maybe been broken up with.
"Relationships that didn't work out then inform the way that we behave in other relationships."
This can cause problems, Gottlieb explained, because we judge our new partner by the standards of previous ones.
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She said: "We are punishing our current partner for a crime they didn't commit, so if you were in a relationship before where someone didn't treat you well, then you are less trusting of the partner you are with."
So basically, make sure you meet the love of your life within this timeframe!
Either that, or do whatever makes you most happy.
Topics: Sex and Relationships