making marriage work

What makes marriage work is actually quite simple.
Happily married couples are smarter, more prosperous, or more psychologically astute than others. But in their day-to-day lives, they have hit upon a dynamic that keeps their negative thoughts and feelings about each other (which all couples have) from overwhelming their positive ones.
Rather than creating a climate of disagreement and resistance, they embrace each other's needs. Their positive attitude not only allows them to maintain but also to increase the sense of romance and play. Fun, adventure, and learning together are at the heart of any long-lasting love affair.
One of the saddest reasons a marriage dies is that neither spouse recognizes its value until it is too late. Only after the papers have been signed, the furniture divided, and separate apartments rented to the exes will they realize how much they really gave up when they gave up on each other.

Infidelity is one of the most painful experiences one can go through. It ruins marriages, and it is very difficult to recover from.