Having A 'Weekend Marriage'?

(CBS)  According to veteran couples counselor Mira Kirshenbaum, 80 percent of all married couples are living the weekend marriage.

"The Weekend Marriage" is also the title of her book, in which she points out that millions of men and women enter into a loving and devoted relationship, but because of their busy lives, they spend most of their time resolving problems.

Click here to read an excerpt.

"Love has a shelf life," Kirshenbaum tells The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen. "We wake up early. It's go, go, go all day. At night, we have chores and responsibilities.

"And there's never any time for falling in love, to do the things we did when we were falling in love. You turn around and say, 'Where is love?' You keep hoping you have time on the weekend, but even on the weekend, a lot of people can't find time. So love becomes an infinitely postponable option. You can always think that it will be there, but it's not."

But there is hope. Kirshenbaum explains that once couples understand that it is the little things that make a difference, even if their time is limited, "it's a whole new ball game."

But if the relationship is ignored, love will die, she warns. "I'm sorry to be so blunt, but it's very scary. The divorce rate is very high and about half of the divorces are coming because of the lack of time."

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