Six tips on how to maintain a happy marriage – yes, good sex is one of them
It’s not easy being married, but with 10 per cent more Chinese couples filing for divorce than last year, is it getting harder? We asked Hong Kong-based sex and marital expert Nikki Green about the best ways of making matrimony work
The actress Kate Hudson once suggested that the key to a successful marriage lay in putting your man first. In our post-feminist era, that’s not a politic – or popular – observation to make. Neither did it work for her; she got divorced not long after delivering that nugget of wisdom.
In the first six months of 2017, 1.85 million couples in China filed for divorce, an increase of more than 10 per cent over the same period last year. Many experts suggest the rising rate is, in part, the consequence of female emancipation. Girl power is a good thing, but so, too, are happy marriages, which are good for children, confidence and our cholesterol levels.
How having children robs parents of their happiness
Sustaining a happy marriage isn’t easy. Even Madonna, who once had a really good-looking husband, loads of money and a bottom that never looked big in anything, admitted, “it’s not easy to be married”. Which may be why she packed it in.
There are many clichés about a good marriage, and how it takes two to make it work. So we consulted Hong Kong-based psychotherapist Nikki Green, who is also a sex and marital expert, for her recommendations.
1. Stay “in touch”