It's All About the Over-60s at the Altar

People in their sixties or over are agreeing to tie the knot, even though they might have reached an age where they had originally thought they might be spending the rest of their lives together.

Marriage is on the up. That's according to latest information from the Office for National Statistics.

They have done research which shows that in 2012, marriage was up five per cent, which is the largest figure in the past ten years.

And apparently, people in their sixties or over are agreeing to tie the knot, even though they might have reached an age where they had originally thought they might be spending the rest of their lives together.

The number of grooms walking down the aisle who are in their late Sixties has increased by 25 per cent while the number of brides has jumped up by 21 per cent.

Of course, what this does mean is that new families are being forged, new relationships are being made and obviously there is room for more communication and compromise along the way.

It certainly doesn't mean just because someone is getting married that everything will be peaches and cream from now on in their lives.

In fact, in recent months I have heard of more and more younger couples coming for counselling - even before they get married, which in my view, is a very good thing indeed. It is not necessary to wait until the marriage or relationship is on the brink of disaster before seeking help from a third party.

Janet Fink, who has co written a book called Couple Relationships in the 21st Century says: "Couples who divorce and marry later in life often have a better sense of who they are what they want from a relationship." She adds: "What matters is good communication".

The playwright Tom Stoppard who is 76 and twice divorced, married Sabrina Guinness who is 59 last month. One friend friend of Sabrina has been quoted as saying: "...she has never displayed any real need to get married or desire to do so. She's always been so very independent, with a full life, on the invitation list of practically everyone who matters in London, and she's never been short of male admirers.

" None of her boyfriends ever looked like serious propositions.

"I suppose the older she got, the more particular she became."

But who knows, perhaps the couple both has done some serious thinking and decided that living or staying single for the rest of one's life is not such a fun idea after all.

Another couple who recently tied the knot was Tina Turner, who is 73; she married Erwin Bach, almost 20 years her junior. The veteran soul singer and German record company executive Bach exchanged vows on the shores of Lake Zurich in Switzerland almost a year ago.

Soon after the marriage, Tina told Hello magazine: 'It's that happiness that people talk about, when you wish for nothing, when you can finally take a deep breath and say, 'Everything is good'. It's a wonderful place to be.'"

Well there you have it - that wonderful place to be. One can only hope that all this happiness lasts forever, but in reality, this is often the stuff that dreams and fairytales are made of. But after all, can't we all dream?

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