At a recent girls’ night out, our group of six consisted of singles, attached women and cohabitees.
The coincidence wasn’t that none of us was married, but that all of us shared a feeling that friendships with married friends are problematic.
Not seeing as much of a friend once they’ve married wasn’t the issue, however. It was that all our recently married friends seemed to feel that, along with the marriage certificate, they had acquired a licence to comment on our lifestyles — and that includes advice on finding a partner, ditching the partner we’re with, or getting the one we’re living with to marry us, along with comments about our appearance (and how that relates to the above), our careers and even the progress of decorating our flats.
By choosing to marry, they had now positioned themselves on a pedestal from which they view singles and cohabitees as less fortunate beings.
Recently, one such friend proclaimed that not being married was ”all right” for me because my life consists of hanging out in cafÃ