All relationships stand on the basic principles of trust, loyalty and good communication. If you follow these tandems and many more as given below, be rest assured that your marriage will never fall apart.

1. Honesty:
Be honest to each other and don’t lie. If you have to pretend then what’s the point of being in a relationship? Even if you want to tell your partner something that you know they won’t like, just muster the courage and tell them rather than complicating the relationship later on.

2. Suspicion:
If you have a natural tendency of being suspicious of your partner all the time, try and control that. If your partner starts getting irritated of your suspicious nature, he or she will stop communicating anything to you after some point, which will spell trouble for your relationship.

3. Respect:
A couple should respect each other. You have to respect each other’s choice, professions, personalities along with likes and dislikes. As much as it is fun to do stuff that you like together, it is equally important for both to tolerate things that are different in you.

4. Spending quality time with each other:
This is crucial in a relationship. Don’t immerse yourself so much into your work that you start taking simple things for granted – for instance, having one meal a day together, going to a cafe on the weekend for a drink or dinner and so on. Be firm on de-cluttering your schedule and making the time for your loved one.

5. Don’t wash dirty linen in public:
This includes both extremes – throwing each other cold stares and yelling at the top of your lungs. Even if you have a difference of opinion with each other in front of friends, keep the fight pending until you get to your own home. You can’t afford to put each other down in a verbal argument in front of a third person.

6. Nagging:
Don’t keep nagging your spouse. You can nag your kids when they aren’t doing things right but with your spouse; you need to treat that a little differently. If an annoying habit of your spouse is getting onto your nerves, then give them their space and talk to them about it rather than being confrontational about it.

7. Communicate:
In addition to keeping your relationship on a strong thread, communication can actually stir up the romance in your relationship once again. It doesn’t mean becoming more verbal, but being more expressive. Bring back the sweet nothings, soft whispers and stolen glances while communicating to each other.

8. Third person interference:
We do look to our best friends in times in discord in our relationship but tread carefully on that path. You must exercise discretion in what you share with your best friends about your spouse. Your spouse may not like it if he/she comes to know that there are some personal things that you have been sharing with your friends, however close they might be.

9. Do your own thing:
Sometimes staleness seeps into marriage because couples end up spending too much time together. Pursue your own hobbies in which you get time to spend with yourself. You have to have your own hobbies and personality so that when you spend time with each other, you have different things to talk about and you look forward to it.

10. Tweak up a bit:
Maybe ‘compromise’ is a little bit of an exaggeration, but a couple should surely tweak their personalities, attitudes and habits to match with each other. There will be many aspects of each other that you don’t particularly like, but you must learn to live with them. After all, life doesn’t come in a perfect package.

You don’t need professional help if your marriage is undergoing a rough patch. All you need to do is think through the points above, analyse where you went wrong and act upon them. If the situation worsens, seek professional help. Follow these tips religiously to make your marriage divorce proof.

Are you heading towards divorce?
The question often asked in a troubled marriage. Don’t take consider the results to this relationship quiz very seriously but still, try it out.

Will you survive a relationship breakdown?
Take this quiz to know if you will be able to cope up with a breakdown in your relationship.