All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.

The news that, for the first time, more women in America are unmarried than married, has had many people talking this week.

Since I am a member of this new majority — albeit not of my choosing — it caught my attention. I know all the reasons for this trend. Women are more financially independent, so they need a man’s paycheck less. They’re living with their boyfriends, perhaps trepidatious about walking down the aisle given the high divorce rate. Speaking of divorce, the desire to stay together for the sake of the kids, coupled with society’s growing acceptance of divorced parents, has made calling it quits much more commonplace.

According to the New York Times, many older women who lose their husbands eventually become marriage-averse, celebrating their newfound freedom instead of looking for a second Mr. Right. Since the divorce rate for second marriages is even higher than for first marriages, some are eschewing the concept of the “blended family” and choosing to live the “Brady Bunch” fantasy through TV re-runs only. Instead, they keep their domiciles and parenting responsibilities separate, and arrange their love lives accordingly.

The Mary Richards out there are not the anomaly she was back in the 1970's. Work isn’t something women do until they snag a husband. On the contrary, it’s often something they care about, and are committed to....

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Hi, everyone.

Should a girl go from picking out a prom dress...to picking a wedding dress?

More of them are. According to one poll, 84% of those between the ages of 17 and 23 say that they either support…or are, themselves, seriously considering…getting married young.

And they aren't just TALKING about it.

One Washington think-tank found that the number of married teenagers in the U.S. surged by almost 50% during the 1990's…leading to more divorce, more school drop-outs, and more domestic violence.

Experts say a renewed sense of cultural conservatism is behind some of these young marriages, with young people wanting more traditional lives than their rebellious baby boomer parents.

Everyone needs to make their own choices. But marriage is a BIG decision. You really need to know YOURSELF before you can be a good partner.

It's hard enough to fill that role when you're 47 -- let alone when you're 17.

That's a page from my notebook.

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