How long were you.....???

[briggsy's girl]

umm, together a week when he unofficially moved in, (stayed the first night and never left!) - engaged 4 months later, married 12months 4 days after we got together. been married almost 3 years, weathered some pretty intense stuff in there (loss of his brother, family breakdown, miscarriages, IVF) and still very happy with our relationship

i don't think the amount of time you're together is a good indicator of how your relationship will last - it's how you weather the storms that arise as you go along. we have been very (un)fortunate that we've faced a LOT, including DH working away long term, him now facing a degenarative illness, both having major surgeries - we've been through a lot and we're still strong. yeah, we have issues, but it's not about how long we've been together - it's just part and parcel of a relationship (IMO). at the end of the day, we love each other, we're compatible and we're content.

ETA - DH told me we were going to get married the night we got together!

[Ella]

"umm, together a week when he unofficially moved in, (stayed the first night and never left!) - engaged 4 months later, married 12months 4 days after we got together. been married almost 3 years, weathered some pretty intense stuff in there (loss of his brother, family breakdown, miscarriages, IVF) and still very happy with our relationship"

Yep I have to agree. DF stayed over during our second date and he never left... we got a house together after about 6 weeks as I was living in a share house.

Doesn't matter how long you're together, like Briggsy we have been through some major stuff- cutting off my mum (not good influence at the time), huge family problems with his mother and many many more.

I think that some people are put here to have a pretty whirlwind experience, and I feel that we are some of them, at 21 I keep getting told that I've been through alot more life experience typed things than many people my age.

[BrightSparkles]

I think that some people are put here to have a pretty whirlwind experience, and I feel that we are some of them, at 21 I keep getting told that I've been through alot more life experience typed things than many people my age.

For sure!

Don't get me wrong. I'm over the moon for people when they are happy. and would do anything to support people through the happy times (and downs of course)
I was just curious to see what others experiences/opinions were. Just trying to get an understanding of other peoples points of view.

[sneakysparkle]

DH & I got engaged after being together 4 yrs - married 6mths later. In Jan we have been married for 7 yrs
We got together in high school though - I knew when I was 17 that I would marry him

[Rainbow_Mumma]

umm, together a week when he unofficially moved in, (stayed the first night and never left!)

my DH was exactly the same! engaged 6 months later and married 3 years later and now been married since November 14th this year

[Alipralli]

Met/started dating when I was 15, engaged 8 years later, married 3 years after that (on 11th anniversary), and coming up to our 4th wedding anniversary (15 years in total).

And I'm still in love with him! Sometimes I think i must be a little crazy...

[~Phoenix~]

DH#1 - I was 19 & he was 21when we met. We got engaged when I was 23 and married when I was 24 so nearly 5 years before we got married. Separated 3 years later after a total of 8 years together. We never lived together beforehand.

DH#2 - We got together in Sept 07 I moved in March 08, he propsed on our 1 year anniversary in Sept 08 and married April this year...so a total of about 19 months.....oh pregnant in July/August and first bubba due May 2010, two weeks after our first wedding anniversary. Ahhh that is moving fast when I read that LOL

Suppose you just never really know until you meet someone how it will all end up

[TeniBear]

May 2002: We met, became friends sometime over the next few months (I hated him for a little bit, but he won me over and I developed a crush on him... He says he loved me from the very beginning )
October 14th 2002: First Kiss, he asked me out the next day
November 20th 2004: We broke up, stayed friends
September 17th 2006: Got back together
June 8th 2007: He proposed at my 21st birthday
October 14th 2007: I moved in with him officially after spending most nights there anyway
August 19th 2009: We found out I'm pregnant after a few "scares" along the way
September 19th 2009: We got married
Sometime next year: We have our first child together

[Kazmar]

Im still living in sin

Id be worried about being engaged and getting married having never lived with eachother. That could create problems.

[Nelle]

Try not to worry. It will work if they both are committed to making it work.

We were engaged after 8 months (he was 20 I was 19), married 7 months after that (he was 21 I was 20) - we didn't live together before marriage, and in February it'll be six years! So we've been together for seven. And no sign of trouble, apart from the fact that he STILL doesn't empty the dirty laundry basket.

As I said at the start, if they work at it, they should be fine. We've done marriage courses, try to go on dates, try to have good quality time and aim to be unselfish - and I think that is more relevant to a relationship's success than the length of the lead-up. xo

ETA: Dedicated Mummy, that's not necessarily true about marriage without living together first creating problems. xo

[BrightSparkles]

:
We were engaged after 8 months (he was 20 I was 19), married 7 months after that (he was 21 I was 20) - we didn't live together before marriage, and in February it'll be six years! So we've been together for seven. And no sign of trouble, apart from the fact that he STILL doesn't empty the dirty laundry basket.

ROFL - my DH is the same!! LOL

[[M]umma[M]ia]

DF and i moved in together, i was 16, he was 19 and we had ben together about 2months. We JUST got enaged this christmas after almost 6 years together and couldnt be happier

[*Nikki*]

Well DF and i are not married yet (will be in 2 months time tho ... we will have been together for abit over 5.5 years... We have only been engaged for 4 months (took him forever to ask me lol)

[Sterla]

DH and I got together when we were 13, so keep this in mind .

DH and were together for a bit over 2 years before we moved in together - however, when I say moving in, I moved in with DH and his mum and brother when I was 16 so that I could do year 11 at a half-decent college. In Year 12 I moved out on my own with a friend though. A year after that DH and I moved in together again, this time sharing with a friend. It was while we were living here that we got engaged - we were 18. While we were engaged we finally moved in together by ourselves.
A year and a half later we got married - we were 19 (I turned 20 the day after). So, we were together for 6.5 years before getting married - and we've now been married for over 4 years .

[Trillian]

We met in March 97, engaged in January 99 and married the following year in April. We've been together 13 years next march. We didn't live together till about 3 months before we were married. I know couples who have been together for years and years and split as soon as the ink on the marriage certificate was dry and know other couples who met and were married within the first year. It's not the length of time that you are together for before you get married, but how committed you are to each other and how committed you are to making it work. I'm sure that your friends know what they are doing and it is their mistake to make if it doesn't work outin the end kwim?

[UntoldAngel]

Moved into a house together after 7 months (although practically inseparable before that), engaged at 8years... we've been together 8.5years now
He was a little slow realising that I was the one he wanted to commit to

[Mrs McAwesome]

my dh and I were together 4.5 years when he proposed the day we moved in together. We got married 10 weeks later. We have been through hell and back as a couple over the past 7.5 years but life is awesome. I must admit not living together was really tough on us and made our first year married VERY VERY tough. But we got through that and now I am just so happy i married my best friend.

[PumpkinZulu]

DF and I met on my 18th birthday in may 08. Kept contact as friends (we have all the same mutual friends). At the end of 08 we started dating, and 4 months in we got pg. DF moved in with me, and 7 or so months in we got engaged. We've now been together just over a year, and are TTC, and plan on getting married late 2010 - early 2011. I personally think living together is important, although it's not what every person should have to do. If they're the one, then they're the one, no matter where two people are at in their lives.

Also just wanted to add that it's awesome reading so many lovely stories about you guys and your partners makes me all mushy inside lol.