DG reader Carol asks: »more»

Looking to explore a new interest or get back into an old one? Looking for people you might want to date? Writing in the Los Angeles Times Magazine, 40-something Amy Albert says forget the online dating services -- go to a Meetup.com gathering. »more»

When in Singapore in January, I learned about a Chinese legend that is supposed to help you attract love. It’s pretty simple.

In Chinatown, a friend pointed out two Mandarin duck figurines. She said if you put these little statues in your bedroom so they faced each other bill-to-bill, they would attract love to you.

Why? »more»

For a relationship to work long term, I believe it’s important that you are able to fit into each other’s world. Not that you have to live parallel lives with the same profession, income, hobbies, etc.

But is important that you can easily slip into each other’s activities, gracefully converse with the other’s counterparts and dress appropriately for the occasion. »more»

According to WSJ's Sue Shellenbarger, the answer is "yes and no". Yes, many of the states with higher reported divorce did in fact vote Republican in the last Presidential election, but no there is no known causal relationship between political affiliation and odds of divorce. Once again we have the confusion of "correlation versus causation": »more»

"LifeTwo columnist Laurie Israel recently posted "25 Secrets To A Great Marriage", which offered specific advice for getting over the rough spots in a marriage. »more»

As a practicing divorce attorney and divorce mediator, I’ve met a number of couples that, if they had been given some good advice (and had remembered that advice) a few years or even months earlier, they would not be divorcing. The following advice is based on my observations as a divorce attorney, a mediator/conflict resolver, and as an experienced, mature married person. »more»

According to a soon-to-be-published study by Washington & Lee University School of Law and reported in the Wall St. Journal, women with M.B.A.s are twice as likely to get divorced or separated as their male counterparts. In short, a professional degree is often hazardous to marital health. According to the study: »more»

The Los Angeles Times published story on grown children returning home to live with children and profiled several "children" in their 40's and 50's who for various reasons had moved back with their parents. The primary reasons were economic and triggered either by divorce or job loss. »more»

Men have told me it isn’t fair when a women judges them based on behaviors of previous suitors. Ideally we all want to be assessed as individuals, not lumped into “men do this” or “women do that” stereotypes.

Yet it is difficult to not take into account past lessons from collective experiences with the opposite gender. »more»

We all know the benefits of "early to bed, early to rise..." and most people in middle age are forced into this regimen by their commutes, family obligations, a desire to exercise, etc. But a certain percentage of the population (estimated anywhere from 5 to 30%) simply cannot get with the early bird program. Their biological clocks just don't seem in sync with the ability to rise with the sun. »more»

When you talk to a potential suitor regularly for more than a few weeks before meeting, a false sense of intimacy can develop. In flirty or soul-baring emails and/or phone conversations, you can begin to feel a budding emotional connection to the other. »more»

38-year-old former RAF officer Richard Martinez likes to go to bars and strike up conversations with women. But he's there with a mission. He's been hired by spouses concerned about the trustfulness of their wives. There is a name for this profession which also employs women checking up on their husbands, it's called "honey trapping" though Martinez prefers the term "integrity testing." »more»

It's no surprise that when things go wrong having friends can help the recovery process. A new study published in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that their is a strong positive relationship between patients' social networks and their recovery rates after major operations. »more»

Studies show that people who are happily married live longer and healthier lives than single people. One study states definitively that the happiness of married people is significantly greater than that of unmarried ones. »more»