Excerpt from The New Paper:
More Singaporeans are falling in love, out of love, and back in love again.
Why is it so hard to make a marriage last? To find the answer, we visit places that couples may find themselves in the course of their love story.
Our Question: What makes a marriage ticks?

THE MATCHMAKER:
The place --> Where the loveless finds love.
Most often heard phrases --> "Singaporean women are so demanding!"
The Love Guru & his thoughts--> A matchmaker, Mr Janson Ong, said "Marriage fails today would have started failing a few years ago. And when you look at the past 10 yrs, you'll see that it's not an easy time for couples. For some people, its no money, no love. We have to be realistic abt this. So matchmaking is a shortcut.

THE SOLEMNISER:
The place --> A beach, A ballroom, ROM, a place where marriage vows are exchanged - and the fairytale begins.
Most often heard phrases --> "I don't know what it means."
The Love Guru & his thoughts --> A solemniser, Mr Emmanuel, said: "Of the 900 or so couples that i have helped to marry over the past 30 years, abt one quarter of them come in with the wrong expectations.
Most of them do not know what a marriage vows really means, that it is not a vow you make to yourself or to your spouse but to your GOD.
It doesn't matter what religion are u in. A marriage vow is a promise to the supreme in your heart. A marriage is sacred, it's a vow that you should never breaks.

THE GYNAECOLOGIST:
The place --> Where love becomes complete.
Most often heard phrase --> "Is my baby normal?"
The love guru & her thoughts --> A gynaecologist, Dr Cathryn Chan, said "The birth of a baby is a critical time in a relationship.
Babies are "romance intruders" in certain ways. Caring for them may be an anti climax after the romance. To keep the love going strong, couples should not focus all their energy on the baby. They must remember to make time for each other.
But sometimes, the child keep a couple together only because of the responsibility.
So when the child is all grown up, the couple suddenly fimds themselves have grown apart. This is why in future, we see more and more older couples with grown up children divorcing.

THE LAWYERS:
The place --> Where the fairytales end.
Most often heard phrase --> "What happened to the husband/wife that I knew?"
The love guru and their thoughts --> Lawyers, Mr Ahmad said "The fact that there were fewer divorces in the past mean there were happier marriages. Women were less independent then a divorce were a taboo. While Mr Palmer said "Times have changed, and the pressure of modern life can lead to a breakdown in communication."
Mr Ahmad: "That may not seem like a problem when a couple first gets together. They have a meeting of minds and then they get married. The first year of marriage... That is critical. If they can survive it, they are good for another five or six years. These will be busy years when you hve your children, buy a flat or car. During this time, a couple may gradually grow in a different way. But they will only realise this later when thgs settle down & boredom sets in."
Mr Palmer: "Couples must remember that the communications begin before a marriage, not after."

THE FUNERAL DIRECTOR:
The place --> Where the love story ends the way it should - Till death do us apart.
Most often heard phrases --> "I see my husband/wife in my children."
The love guru & his thoughts: Funeral Director, Mr Victor Hoo said "I come in at the end of a beautiful love story and my role is to fill in the emptiness - with the memories of their love. But do we see the good, the bad & the ugly?
People say until death do us apart but what they don't say is that is it a sad parting or a happy parting?
Sometimes, the spouse is so relieved that husband or wife is gone. But i can tell whether a couple's love is true, juz by looking.
And its not from the crying. Its how much attention they pay to the details. Its like they are loving the person as if he/she is still there.
And this is what true love is: "When you can still love someone without his or her physical presence."