“Successful marriage is a highly valued goal for the majority of Americans. In fact, 93% of Americans rate “having a happy marriage” as one of their most important objectives in life, and more than 70% believe that marriage involves a lifelong commitment that should only be ended under extreme circumstances (Waite & Gallagher, 2000 ).

However, despite these desires for successful, life-long marriage, couples marrying for the first time in the United States continue to face a 40-50% chance of divorcing during their lifetime, with approximately two-thirds of these divorces occurring within the first 10 years of marriage (Clark, 1995 ).

These trends are compounded in that many distressed couples never divorce, remaining in non-satisfying relationships, conflictual relationships, or both (Notarius & Markman, 1993 ). The current state of marriage in the United States is troublesome, because a growing body of research shows that successful marriages promote mental, physical, and family health, whereas conflicted and unstable marriages undermine well-being and incur large social and financial costs for communities” (see Waite & Gallagher, 2000 , for a review).

As the Host of Just for Women, I make it a point to notice trend’s among the women I speak to and the Experts who toil to deliver answers and insight to help relieve some of the mystery and pain of being a woman in today’s society.  One burgeoning concept is a new form of relationship I will call “Lovership.”

Many of the Relationship Experts I interview offer information that helps women successfully navigate today’s dating world and then into “how to make love last.” The concept of consciously, boldly creating exactly the kind of “form” you want to have with another is a rather new concept.  But as women continually find and free their hearts, voices and genitalia, it seems to make perfect sense.

“Loverships” are relationships that are created after the 3rd or 4th date when two people (same sex or opposite sex) consciously start conversations to create what’s next.  Mostly people do or want to start having sex at this point.  Many people are not talking frankly with each other about what the might entail.

Aymee Coget, Happiness Expert and Relationship coach is one of the leading experts openly talking about Lovership and her use of it in her own life. “Lovership is based on passion, romance, excitement, giving, receiving, and exploring sexuality with another.  It allows for exploration and communication without judgment… it allows us space and time to cultivate passion, to cultivate communication and trust before we move into Partnership.”

She goes on to outline some of the cornerstones of Lovership:
Passion Index (listen to interview for full description)
Romance
Honesty
Sexual Desire
Giving/Receiving
Check out the full interview this week on Just for Women, it is quite interesting.

I am applying this concept myself in my own LOVE Life and it is quite eye-opening.  Even discussing the idea of creating a Lovership helps you get REALLY clear very QUICKLY about what you want and if the person across from you is willing and able to provide it.  It requires maturity, emotional sobriety and no attachment to any particular outcome.  Loverships are really about LOVE in the deepest meaning of the word.

Stay tuned for more insight into Loverships, Alpha Females, Cougars and other terms being tossed around these days as we try to get a handle on what is happening among “waking” women in society today.

I would love to hear your comments about LOVERSHIP ~ please let me know your thoughts!