1 of 21

Write now Article Tools

My wife and I honeymooned on a cruise ship, and it was the luckiest thing we ever did. Because, on that cruise we met a couple who had managed to hang on to their newlywed bliss through more than fifty years of marriage.

For some reason - perhaps because they behaved like newlyweds themselves - we really hit it off with Jack and Betty. Jack had been through the war, and after it had founded his own airplane service company. Betty was a breast cancer survivor and mother of four children. They were the happiest couple we had ever met, and I'm very grateful we met them when we did, because neither my wife nor I had very good examples of marriages in the families we grew up in.

Here, in condensed form, are the secrets Jack and Betty shared with us over eight glorious days of cruising through the Greek islands.

The Eight Secrets of Newlywed Bliss

1. See your spouse through the eyes of their lover. It's tempting to see your spouse as some sort of business partner, but newlyweds see their spouses as lovers first.

2. Never raise your voice to your spouse. Newlyweds in their blissful state never raise their voice, and there's really no excuse to ever do this, to the most important person in your life.

3. Your spouse is the most important person in the world. Your children come second. If this secret is hard to accept, just think how much better your children are served by having two happy loving parents, than two bickering ones.

4. The world exists for you, not the other way around. Newlyweds don't worry about wars in distant lands, or looming global disasters. Unless your worry is actually going to solve these problems, you're better off enjoying your life.

5. Celebrate your spouse the way you would celebrate a lottery win. Because that's really what your spouse is.

6. Make every day you spend together a holiday. You have your freedom, and each other, and on this planet that's an awful lot.

7. Never say a bad word about your spouse to anyone. Make this a rule.

8. Being happy is more important than being right. This may be the most important secret to newlywed bliss. Newlyweds delight in one another, not in being right. If you put your happiness ahead of any small need to be right, you'll soon find you give up the habits of arguing, and fault-finding that can kill newlywed bliss quicker than anything else.

We've applied these secrets we learned from Jack and Betty to our own marriage and as a result we've been far happier than our parents ever. Our marriage has been a joy and a blessing to us, instead of a cross to bear, and if you apply these secrets to your marriage you may find that you keep your newlywed bliss alive throughout all your years together.

Learn more about this author, David Riel.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about The secrets of newlywed bliss?
We want to hear your view. Write now!