I can't speak for all, but those whom I dated within this culture typically:
1) Starting dating later;
2) Had 1 or 2 LT bfs, which didn't work out; as the exes were physically abusive bf, mentally-abusive bf, alcoholic bf, gambling bf, unambitious bf, incongruent religious beliefs, cheating bf, non-committing bf, etc.
It's really a silly question as to why they didn't marry right away. Relations with the wrong people (for you) happen very often for myriad reasons. Just because a girl is beautiful and cultured does not mean that every guy will treat her right and marry her early. Actually, guys like me getting into LTRs with women like them are the reason why they're still single. As a high-value man with many options, it is rather hard to stay with one women, treat her well, and want to marry her.
To be honest with you, I have a great time being single. Sure replacing harems intermittently every few months can be a bit draining, but the novelty of new pvzzy among the most beautiful in the world is a high that cannot be achieved in a marriage. So even, as I write in this thread, I, myself, am not 100% sold on getting married ... but I'm open to it as a possibility one day. I try to stay fluid and not be so concrete in any belief, convention, dogma, system. This enables me to open to the world and allows the universe to direct me to my next lesson--and not hit me over the head because I'm a stubborn fool.
Haha, I don't think women like this frequent POF.
@Augustus_McCrae: Very true. You cannot avoid imputation of income (though it can be mitigated through a prenup as long as it's jurisdictionally "fair", so invest carefully into the spousal maintenance section of the contract), as opposing counsel can subpoena your bills and credit card statements, determine how much you spend based on your monthly expenditures, and order spousal maintenance in accordance.
For low-income earners, find high-income earners.
For high-income earners, I would recommend not only to hire a seasoned attorney, but subscribe to Westlaw for a few months, read all the appellate cases of your state, and write the "spousal maintenance" section of the prenup within the context of the most recent superseding case law, as it relates to "fair" maintenance. Then hire a seasoned attorney to read, advise, and revise.
Unless you're spending $1,000/hr on a Top 10 law firm attorney (but even then), I encourage all to do their own due diligence of the jurisdictional law governing the prenup.