The Seven-Year Itch

**Reality: A real pattern, a made-up number.** The phrase (popularized by the 1955 Marilyn Monroe film) suggests marital satisfaction predictably craters at year seven. Research does show that divorce risk peaks in the early-to-middle years of marriage and that satisfaction commonly declines from newlywed highs, but there's nothing magic about year seven; studies have found peaks anywhere from year four to year eight, varying by population and era. The useful kernel: the transition out of the honeymoon period and into the logistics-heavy middle years (often coinciding with young children) is a genuinely vulnerable stretch that benefits from deliberate investment.