Don't get married. I was married for 5 years, had 3 kids, but it didn't work out. My girlfriend had been married twice before I met her and neither marriage lasted a whole year. We've been together for over 28 years now. Sometimes you have to learn what you don't like in order to find who you're compatible with. In our case I think it's the idea that if you're married you have a tendency to take the other person for granted. If you're just "shacked up" you can leave whenever you want (of course having kids and co-ownership of property may complicate that equation).