By host Tom Ashbrook:

Once upon a time they called it the “seven year itch” — the swoon from marital bliss to marital danger zone. Now, they’re saying three, three short years from wedding bells to bumpy road.

Seven years is still the median length of first marriages that end in divorce. But new research suggests that at just three years the first buzz of wedded happiness starts to fade.

For the half million Americans who just tied the knot last month, this is news you can use. A rough patch to watch out for and navigate eyes wide open.

This hour On Point: love, marriage, vulnerability — and the three-year itch.

Guests:

Sam Roberts, Metro Reporter for The New York Times. He wrote about “The Shelf Life of Bliss” in the July 1st Sunday Styles section of the Times. ;
Kelly Musick, author of “Co-habitation, Marriage, and Trajectories in Well-Being and Relationships.”;
Janice R. Levine, clinical psychologist and marriage therapist, and founder of The Couples Health Program.;
Paul R. Amato, Professor of Sociology, Demography, and Family Studies at Pennsylvannia State University