By America’s #1 Love and Marriage Experts.
Recently, we traveled again to Europe to conduct more interviews with successfully married couples. Since we had not been to France in several years, we were beginning to believe the media reports about how the French did not like Americans. So, we braced ourselves for the difficulties we might encounter as two American authors and researchers asking intimate questions about love and marriage in France. Our fears and the media reports could not have been further from the truth.
First of all, the French people were delightful! They were wonderfully warm, open, friendly, and courteous beyond imagination. Everywhere we went they treated us like members of their family. From the hotels we stayed in to the local bistros, the people were marvelous. On buses, trains, subways, and in cabs, we were greeted with open arms and great warmth.
And while we have heard for years the notion that French people will be more friendly if you speak to them in French; we found that a warm handshake and a big smile spoke volumes in French! They were polite to us and we reciprocated. We struggled with each other’s languages but we managed. Big smiles, hand signs, and hugs go a long way in most of the foreign countries we have visited. France was no exception.
Our travels took us throughout France, with a focus on Paris and Lyon; both wonderful cities with fabulous cuisine, great wine, sights to behold, and history to tell. But more than anything, with all the amenities of these two great cities, we were struck by the friendliness and warmth of the French people. We were there for nearly two weeks and have only splendid experiences to report. The French passion for food, wine, life and romance cannot be missed if you strike up a conversation with someone, observe couples strolling down the Champs Elysee, or mingle in a small cafe or bistro.
And the couples we interviewed were marvelous, which brings us to the main point of our story. You have probably heard that the French are no longer interested in marriage or some variation on that theme. Don’t you believe it! The couples we interviewed who had been successfully and happily married for 30 to 60 years reported great satisfaction in their marriage and would do it all over again. But here is where it gets interesting; we found the same themes in young French couples who were in love. The ones we interviewed loved each other very much and were looking forward to getting married, just like their aunts and uncles, parents, and grand parents before them. In fact, the word on the French streets is that marriage is making a very nice comeback in France! We heard nothing while we were there to dispute that notion.
Isn’t that wonderful news! The greatest romantic country in the world, and a very secular country as well, is getting interested in marriage again. That is encouraging news, indeed.
When we summarized our recent interview data from France we were struck by how similar the characteristics that defined their successful marriages and relationships were to those in the USA. They were virtually identical. It seems that successful marriages around the world or in romantic countries have common themes. Frankly, we continue to be extremely excited about our findings.
Having already interviewed successfully married couples in 48 countries on all seven of the world’s continents, we were happy to return to France and see love flourishing.
While we have enjoyed immensely the couples we have interviewed in all of the countries we have visited, we particularly enjoyed our recent interviews with French couples. There are a multitude of reasons why. But if you pushed us to name just one, it would have to be their passion for life and their love for each other. We do not ever remember feeling so comfortable and welcomed by the people of a foreign country than we did on our recent trip to France.
As we began to write the individual and collective stories of these engaging French couples with successful marriages for our next book, we found ourselves wanting to share some of those findings with you right away. We were just too excited to wait!
Stay tuned for more on love, relationships and successful marriage in romantic countries and around the world!
Read our latest book, How to Marry the Right Guy, to discover if you have found man you should marry.
By Drs. Charles and Elizabeth Schmitz
America’s #1 Love and Marriage Experts
* Creating a successful marriage is not always the easiest thing to do. Your visiting our blog suggests you are highly interested in making your relationship work! And truthfully, we have learned over 30 years of marriage research that there are proven effective ways to ensure a happy and healthy marriage. In fact, as love and marriage experts we took hundreds of tips from the thousands of happy couples we interviewed throughout the world and put them into our award-winning and bestselling book, Building a Love that Lasts .
As America’s #1 Love and Marriage Experts and award-winning authors, Drs. Charles and Elizabeth Schmitz help international audiences answer questions about love, marriage and relationships. With over 30 years of research on love and successful marriage across seven continents of the world in 48 countries and their own 47-year marriage, the Doctors know what makes relationships work.
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