Smiling and nodding when introduced to a fiance, as opposed to laughing in faces, is just a common courtesy sown to one's friends and relatives.

There are a lot of other criteria that we all use to judge whether a relationship will work out. I've known couples who are totally, completely wrong for each other who have been together for years.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's not like they say'd: "Well, here we are at eight months, let's go get married and find ourselves a kid...."

Article seems to indicate son was adopted prior to their getting together.... did I miss something?

I bet there are no stats on a longer engagement, so to speak, that indeed makes the relationship last longer.

You are becoming a bit of a harpie and a bit frumpy..... as well

Remember, LOVE?

@2 - yes, it can happen, but in my experience that's the exception, not the rule.

And marriage is an important decision, but we've got divorces for a reason. At worst, these people fuck up their lives for a little while and everyone's inconvenienced. I'm always much more worried about couples who want children.

They're harder to "do over."

Isn't there some sort of gay-to-straight dating time ratio? If you're gay, 9 months in a relationship is like 3 years in a straight one, or something like that. Its kind of like dog years.

And besides, Jaaaaaason is, like, totally in love. TBH, he did come out for the guy.

Although the phrase "Soul Mate" is a bit of a red flag.

Jaaaaaason's eggs are almost done dropping, especially at 38. Soon, he'll be an infertile granny. :-/

There is no such thing as marriage; there are only relationships: some permanent, some not, some monagamous, some not, some with children, some not, some legally recognized, some not.

Nothing changes when the guy in the black dress snaps the book closed and tells you to kiss. You still have the same relationship you've always had.

Ummm, what? Breeders in their late thirties get married at the drop of a hat. Time's'a'wastin'!

Or perhaps we should look at it another way, Dan. Messy Celebrity Divorces might mean The Gays have finally fully arrived in pop culture.

This is the kind of blanket-statement silliness we usually read from Mudede. Le sigh.

I think anyone who goes on at length about their "super-extreme soul mate for life" is courting delicious irony, regardless of the length of the relationship.

And Dan ought to be happy for them; if they ever get "The Kid" turned into a Broadway musical, they can hire this yutz to star in the Sydney road company.

BTW, my partner and I met in a sleazy bar, he moved in the next week, and we've been together 22 years and have four kids. No marriage, though (too lazy to make the long trip north to Canada).

You date someone, you fall in love, you start talking about long-term and kids and you get engaged.

The rules don't say you have to get married immediately, right? I mean, can't I be engaged to my boyfriend for a year or so while we figure out wedding and housing and whatnot?

Maybe I'm blinded by romance, but I honestly don't see what the problem is here.

If only there were some way to slow the process down, maybe by banning gay marriage?

Or maybe we could outlaw adoption.....

Although, I gotta say, when I came home one night and my mom told me he proposed, I went a little bit ballistic and said "is he out of his fucking MIND?! They barely KNOW each other" and so on.

So yeah, I was wrong. Once. Twenty years ago. But I haven't made a habit of it.

Mind you, we're not celebrities, we didn't adopt kids, and we didn't do a publicity tour. The odds are against them, and they'll look like morons if they break up in a year. The whole celebrity-adopting-african-babies phenomena (gay or straight) is extremely off-putting. It almost seems like designer pets. Like there is a shortage of kids in the US that need an adoptive parent? WTF?

it probably depends on your own collection of anecdotes from friends/acquaintances/etc., but ticking them off just now - a lot more of them 'met sleazy' e.g. got together in a short time and stayed together for a long time - than the other way round. people who drag their feet about it seem to be unsure; it's harder still to say with gays because most everywhere there are no legal options for showing commitment that would be officially recognized (and officially dissolved).

wonder what the stats are.

people who are quiet about it are no less screwed in the statistics, though, i think. our attention is just naturally drawn to those who are brave about it.

I moved in with my soul mate eight months after I met him and lived happily ever after (until he died 12 years later).

Drop the scolding grandma posturing, please. You think too much and ya get all twisty and judgemental. Do some yoga or something...