Quote: "Bottom line, marriage - like everything else - is a risk. It's a question of whether you believe the rewards are worth it."
It's actually a risk, but it's NOT a risk like everything else. It's a risk that's more akin to betting money against a con man who plays a 3-card monte. That game is DESIGNED for you to lose. You're basically entering into a contract where you, the man, are agreeing that under any and all circumstances, no matter how bad or who is at fault, that you are granting the other party no liability whatsoever, and that the other party is entitled (familiar word, isn't it?) to HALF of your amassed income.
Half is half, whether you're rich or poor. Half of your property is a lot, whether you make $200 a week or 2 million a year. You are entering this agreement without full disclosure (meaning you don't know if her behavior will change for the worse when you're married or even 10 years down the road). You are entering an agreement under a specific set of circumstances as they are right now, but the contract doesn't hold any form of binding conditions for the other party, and does not hold the other party responsible for maintaining the present conditions. (Meaning there are no penalties if she doesn't live up to her end of the agreement.)
In fact, if the contract is dissolved for any reason, by either party, YOU are always going to lose half. Do you really think cheating is the only possible scenario? I hear the men here talking about if the woman leaves, gets bored, or isn't happy.Well, what if the MAN becomes unhappy? What if the man gets tired of her nagging, her b**ching, her whining and complaining? What if he gets tired of dealing with her sh*t? What if he gets tired of her badgering or lack of appreciation or sense of entitlement? What if he gets tired of the constant honey-do lists? What if he gets tired of a woman's incessant demands?
What if he gets tired of constantly bickering over stupid things that are non-issues? What if he gets tired of her childishness? What if he gets tired of her selfishness or her lack of consideration? What if she is a bossy woman and he's getting tired of her trying to boss him around? Even if he's the man and constantly puts her in her place for the behaviors listed above, what if he gets tired of having to constantly correct her and wants to have some peace in his life for a change?
In over 90% of the cases, if there's a divorce, for any of the reasons listed above, it does NOT matter. The courts will NOT take into account that she had a comfortable, easy existence that he made possible by making sacrifices. The courts will not care whether or not he paid off her debt when they married. They will NOT even take that into account. They will NOT cut him a break if he is the sole breadwinner and he paid for everything while they were together. They will not take the numbers into account there. In all fairness, they should tally up all of the extra expenses he took on because of being married and use that as some form of credit that would reduce his alimony/child support.
I'd say there's a huge marriage-killer out there that is more common than cheating and as soon as you hear the word, you're going to make an association with one of the genders. The word is NAGGING.
Nagging in Marriage is More Common than Adultery But Can Also Lead to Divorce-
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203806504577180811554468728.html
Remember, once you get married, it's the State (OTHER MEN) that enforce these unfair laws (if you look at the numbers, the vast majority of law enforcement are MEN). Legal marriage is NOT about romance and love. It's about OTHER MEN interfering with your relationship and enforcing unfair, destructive laws at your expense. When the laws become more fair and balanced, marriage will become a salvageable institution. At least the risks won't be so overwhelmingly one-sided.
One last note. What does this sound like to you? A bi-lateral contract (two parties) where only one party assumes all the risks. It sounds like a con to me. Much like the 3 card Monte.