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Does it matter how a couple met? Contented Couples, a new guide to long-term relationships, features candid, intimate interviews with eighteen couples, based in the UK and USA. Each pair tell of how they met, how they formed a relationship and how they've thrived to become a truly happy union.
One couple met and married within a month, whilst another two were thrown together repeatedly by a matchmaker who refused to give up - and it is not only guy meets girl either. The couples speak from an array of circumstance, culture and sexual orientations, including arranged marriage, friends-to-lovers and dating apps.
In the pages, couples (or those still hoping to find lasting love), will find real-life anecdotes, testimony and wisdom on every stage of long-term love from each partner. From their first meet and transition through the 'love bubble' of dating to selection, attachment and commitment, and woven throughout are jargon-free explanations of how couples form a bond from renowned couple therapist and writer on attachment styles, Anne Power. The interviews even recount examples of how the couples handled fights, money, relatives and sex in a way that isn't shared normally outside of a therapy session.
Each chapter ends with questions which invite us all to reflect on our own relationships and learn by eavesdropping on contented couples in a way that, for most of us navigating long-term relationships, is rare. Contented Couples has been prepared for anyone seeking lasting love, greater insight into their own coupledom, or indeed anyone who works with couples regularly and could use some more context on how this type of relationship actually works.
Anne Power is a couple therapist who writes and speaks regularly on attachment issues. She has clinical qualifications from The Bowlby Centre, Westminster Pastoral Foundation, Tavistock Relationships and Relate and she has experience with clients in the NHS, in prisons and in voluntary settings, including the Terrence Higgins Trust.
Across three decades of practice as a therapist, she has written over twenty papers for publication in academic and professional journals, which all explore the meaning of attachment in the consulting room and in the supervision relationship. Her second book, Contented Couples: Magic, Logic or Luck? reflects on interviews with eighteen long-term couples for a general audience interested to know how attachment styles play out in our long-term relationships and marriages. Contented Couples: Magic, Logic or Luck? was published by Confer Books and it is on sale now.
Win an Engaged Couple a Dublin Minimoon with GoHen & StagWeb
Leading UK stag and hen party providers, StagWeb and GoHen, have launched a brand-new competition offering one lucky engaged couple the chance to win a Dublin minimoon - completely free. Whether it's a little pre-wedding trip to escape the planning stress or a post-wedding adventure before the honeymoon, it could be the perfect little wedding gift for the happy couple - read here now!
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Expert says prenups aren't just for the rich and famous
Legal experts at Richard Nelson LLP are urging Brits to rethink who prenups are really for. While often seen as something reserved for high-profile couples, data suggests they remain largely overlooked in everyday relationships. Just 7 percent of divorced Brits had a prenuptial agreement in place before separating, highlighting a significant gap between perception and reality. Regionally, attitudes vary. Manchester has emerged as the UK's 'prenup capital', with 13 percent of divorced couples having one in place, compared to 8 percent in London and 11 percent in Birmingham. Meanwhile, cities including Liverpool and Southampton reported no uptake among those surveyed.
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Channels Estate Wedding Fair hosted by County Wedding Events
If you're newlyweds-to-be embarking on your wedding planning journey, pop along to the County Wedding Events wedding show at Channels Estate, Essex, for inspiration on Sunday 29th March, 2026! Sister company to County Wedding Magazines, the event brings couples that are desperate for face-to-face wedding planning in touch with local professionals who are on hand to help plan the wedding day. From photographers to cake makers, musicians to florists you're sure to tick a lot off of your to-do list by attending one of our County Wedding Events. The beautifully restored, 17th-century, thatched Essex Barn is an idyllic wedding venue for your special day. Tie the knot with your soulmate in surroundings full of character with up to 100 of your loved ones there to share the moment.
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Pre-wedding nerves, relationship advice and the secrets to a long, happy marriage
Planning a wedding is one of the most exciting seasons in a couple's life. It is also one of the most emotionally revealing. As someone who has coached over 1,300 women into healthy, committed relationships and marriages through my Love Success Framework, I can tell you this: the way you handle wedding planning is often a preview of how you will handle marriage. Not because of the flowers. Not because of the guest list. But because of how you navigate stress, expectations, decision-making, and emotional needs together. A wedding is an event. A marriage is an energetic ecosystem.
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