Perhaps sadly, today only about 2% of high school couples go on to marry. That number is significantly lower than it was decades ago.
Is this a good thing, a bad thing, or something nobody really cares about? Let’s examine this question in detail.
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Are there good reasons for this decline?
It depends on your perspective. Today more people are taking the time to settle into a career, get to know themselves better, and perhaps do some traveling.
In years past, it was every person’s dream to marry and raise a family. In 2022, that has changed. Other things are more important to people.
Are people more selfish today than years ago?

No, their reasons for staying single really are not selfish. It is just that their goals are different.
Many people are comfortable remaining single. In today’s society, people do not feel like they need to be married in order to be happy.
They are content to do their own thing and do not want anybody else telling them what to do.
Lack of experience in life can play a role in this
Sometimes the reasons a high school couple does not marry nowadays include a lack of experience with life in general.
More young people are remaining at home longer and have everything given to them by their parents.
They lack experience in life’s ups and downs as well as in communicating with each other.
Instead of getting married, these couples now want to have fun and not be tied down to one person.
There is really nothing wrong with this. It is just different from many years ago. Folks no longer feel the need to rush into a marriage.
Do children have anything to do with the decision to marry?

This was more of a reason to marry years ago than it is today. Back then, if a young girl got pregnant, it was the responsibility of the guy to marry her.
Sadly, true love was not part of the picture. Eventually, when the children grew older, the couple often divorced or wasn’t happy.
Nowadays, it is far more common for a girl to elect to raise the child alone. There is more support from a young lady’s family now, too.
Years ago, she would have been cast out and shunned. People now have a greater acceptance of the decision to keep and raise a child.
Why do high school sweethearts go their separate ways?
There are many reasons for this. Let’s check some of them out:
- They move to another location that is too far away
- Their interests change
- They get a great career going and prefer to focus on it
- Their friends change
- Their goals change
- Their financial picture looks too dim right now
- They do not want to be tied down
- They don’t want anyone giving them orders
- One or both want to see other people
- One enters the military, and the other doesn’t want to wait for them
- One passes away from unfortunate circumstances
What is different now from years ago?

Society, in general, is different. A lot of women value their independence now. Decades ago, it was up to the spouse to provide for them and the children.
It was also more common to fall in love in high school and remain with that person. In the past, that was normal.
Today, in 2022, women go into the military or find a career niche they are interested in and support themselves.
Also, through scientific breakthroughs, women can now have children without the presence of a man.
They are also opting to take care of the kids themselves. Thus, the need to get married is not as strong as it used to be.
What was the common age to get married years ago?
In the 1940s the average age for marrying was between 18 and 22, and not all of these couples ended up divorcing.
Some couples settled for an unhappy marriage, but plenty of other couples live fulfilling lives together.
If you look around you at most older couples who are celebrating 40, 50, or more years of marriage, they met in high school.
But times were much different then. People placed more of a value on love and raising a family than we are seeing today.
This is not a derogatory comment, just the truth.
Waiting for that “right person”

Sometimes what happens is that, even though a couple might be together in high school, one or both do not consider that person to be “the one” for them.
Therefore, they break up and each begins that search for their soul mate. It may take years, but many people do eventually find that person.
Are these couples less likely to divorce?
It depends upon their expectations of the other person. People must understand that life is not like a fairy tale.
You are not always going to agree with Prince Charming. There could be rough patches and problems along the way. What matters is how you deal with them.
In actuality, it does not matter what age a person is when they marry. What matters is their compatibility with each other and if they share the same values.
These are the things that make a marriage last or fail.
Just wanting to be cool

In high school, many relationships happen in order for one or both people to look cool. Having a sweetheart in school is a badge of honor.
Somebody actually wants to date them, hooray!
What can be detrimental for these two individuals is when they pursue a relationship on a sexual level. That can lead to a forced marriage or an unwanted pregnancy.
This is definitely NOT cool. However, young people do not often think of these things prior to entering into a relationship.
Reuniting with your high school beau
Believe it or not, this does happen. Years later, after both people have been married to others, high school sweethearts reunite.
Many times the passion between them still exists. So they decide to pursue relations with them.
What can happen in such a scenario?

Of course, every situation is different, so there is no one answer.
However, there are times when these two people divorce their current spouses and go on to date each other. Sometimes they marry, sometimes they do not.
There are situations where one or both of these individuals are either widowed or divorced before finding each other again.
Then nobody else is hurt when the two pick up where they left off while in high school.
Does the age of the couple matter?
Not anymore. It used to be there was a stigma associated with certain relationships. Again though, society has changed.
Now things like age, gender, ethnic background, financial status, do not matter. If two people are truly in love, they should form a lasting partnership with each other.
What are some secrets to making the marriage last?

They should have respect for each other and be truly in love. Also, taking the time to get to know each other is important.
Communication is also a factor in a great marriage. Never allow bad moods to fester and hurt your spouse.
Marriage requires a lot of work on the part of both people. If you plan to get married, you should both be aware of this and willing to do the work.