The Phases of Marital Love
Marital love has the following phases:
Romantic love
This is the most romantic and the most passionate phase of marital love. In this phase partners idealize each other. Often they perceive disadvantages of the partner forgivingly or take them as positive. They don't notice other attractive people as they are attracted to each other.Mature love
Spouses realize that the partner isn't ideal and besides advantages has disadvantages as well. In this phase they accept each other with all the disadvantages, thus, saving their family. But if they don't share common values and worldview, it can be very difficult to do it, and sooner or later they can divorce.
Anyways, if they save the family, their feelings become deeper even though aren't that strong and bright like before.Love-friendship
In this phase love weakens. Mutual deep understanding and intimacy connect the partners. But if they are absent between the spouses, the latter get more and more distant. Thus, we can mention that to save the family it is important for spouses to be friends besides being lovers.
