If you’re planning on living together, owning property together, and having children together, a breakup in that situation looks about the same (and might be even more legally difficult) than a divorce. Putting the marriage label on a long term relationship doesn’t necessarily make its failure worse.

It's important to see how a spouse will handle one becoming ill. That is a big test.

a colleague of mine is going through his FOURTH divorce. another one has 5 kids by 3 wives, and he’s not even 45 yet. the national head of our department is on his third, and doesn’t really hide his proclivity of hanging out with prostitutes.