To start off, I need to say that all couples reach that stage at differemt points in their relationship. I was married for 11 years, but my wife and I knew each other for about fourteen. Making it to that stage was a simple yet VERY difficult process for us, much of which was owed to her being able to tolerate and help in the rehabilitation of my mental state both during deployments and after being discharged. I guess you could say that I felt like I owed her, in a sense, but... I don't mean that in a toxic way. More like I felt like i had an obligation to her because of that. The thing is that no woman I knew prior would have stuck around and dealt with all that bullshit, so I just knew that I would never find anyone better. Then parenthood took priority, so all we could really do was look for new and exciting things to do during vacations and stuff. The thing is that boring times can be healthy for relationships. It makes vacations and other experoences that much more special. You have to keep the love alive. People can both fall in and out of love.