How long should you date before getting married?
The story of a couple who has been dating for 18 years went viral on Twitter on Wednesday. Many people believed that the couple should have moved past the dating stage and into marriage by this point. Do you agree?
There are several reasons why people date.
Some date for the fun of it, others use the dating period to determine how compatible they are for marriage, although, not everyone aspires to get married.
But should there be a time period of how long a relationship should be before marriage?
READ: Friends realise that they are chatting to the same girl!
A Twitter user shared the story of a couple who has been together for 18 years.
The user, Mxolisi Luke Mkhize, said his friend fell ill after discovering that his long-term girlfriend was cheating. The couple is said to be 34-years old and they started dating while they were in Grade seven.
This led to many users saying the friend was not serious with his girlfriend because they dated for too long.
"My friend is heartbroken, he can’t eat , sleep or breathe. His girlfriend of 18 year’s has been cheating on him with a married man. He is literally sick," wrote Mkhize.
Following his tweet, #Girlfriend of 18 started trending on Twitter.
"Took her long enough , 18 years of being a girlfriend?!" commented one user.
"He deserves to be cheated on. How can you make someone’s child a gf for 18 long years?," another user wrote.
However, other Twitter users argued that there can never be an excuse for cheating and marriage might have not stopped the girlfriend from being unfaithful.
"Why are people being weird? Not everyone wants to get married and it's not a requirement for a long, healthy, lasting relationship. Anyway, do they have kids together? Cause wow that would be tough," wrote a Twitter user.
"Marrying this woman even after a year wouldn’t have made a difference… it’s clear that she doesn’t respect the institution of marriage……. Even if he married her, she would still cheat on him. It’s not being married that’s the issue (these views are my own)," another one commented.
My friend is heartbroken, he can’t eat , sleep or breathe. His girlfriend of 18 year’s has been cheating on him with a married man. He is literally sick 😭
— Mxolisi Luke Mkhize (@MxolisiLuke) February 22, 2023
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