Marriage began as a ritual of religion to combine the resources of families and to transfer the ownership and responsibility of a woman from her father to a man in exchange for a bride price. That’s part of what’s wrong with it.

The premises that made it work no longer apply, or are no longer practiced. The shift from marriages being encompassed by extended family to just the nuclear unit may also contribute to the instability of them long term. There’s no pressure valve when things get tough, no safe corners to retreat to for comfort and solace while regrouping, no one else to step up and step in when life’s needs exceed the best efforts of two people or when one of them is just too exhausted and despondent to be present.