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While a long-distance marriage may not be the ideal for a lot of couples, a few are open to the idea. It takes two strong people to hold together a long-distance marriage.
Long-distance is much easier to deal with during the dating phase than in marriage as there are higher commitment and more boundaries in the latter. Here are certain things to expect in a long-distance marriage.
- Loneliness: You may constantly find yourself feeling lonely. Because you're miles away from your spouse, there will be bouts of loneliness especially at during intimate moments. It can get intense if you regularly see happy couples spending time together. Lonely nights can be frustrating and depressing. One way to deal with this is to have family and close friends around.
- Little to No Sex: Snuggling alone in bed on most nights can lead to dissatisfaction in the marriage. Sexting can be an alternative while you both make plans to meet.
- False Assumptions: You may get tempted to assume that your partner cheating or living an unhealthy lifestyle. Trusting your trust your spouse to do the right thing is a necessity for your marriage to thrive. When you face challenges, discuss them with each other, rather than outsiders like friends or relatives.
- Less intimacy: As a consequence of minimal physical interaction, intimacy is greatly reduced or in some cases, non-existent. The longer the distance, the lesser the number of physical activities you can both engage in. Activities such as cooking meals, going to the movies/beach, hanging out with friends together will only happen during rare or special occasions like vacations or anniversaries.
- Less face-to-face Interaction: Calls (video & audio), texting, e-mails and whatever other means of communication exists would replace face-to-face interaction.
- Minimal Communication: Technology can help keep communication going. However, in long-distance marriages, serious or contentious conversations may be limited. The absence of such conversations creates a gap that leads to a lot of resentment and eventual conflict. So you should both resolve issues as immediate as they come.
- Time: One positive of a long-distance marriage is that it affords the couple ample time to do some personal stuff. It could range from as little as reading a book to completing a post-graduate degree. The time that could have been spent bonding with your spouse is allotted to realizing personal goals.
There are two kinds of attributes when it comes to long-distance relationships: “absence makes the heart grows fonder” or an “out of sight, out of mind” personalities. You should ensure to know where you fall in before you engage in it.