True love is the greatest thing in the world. But love comes in all forms.
Gone are the days when a person is defined by their marital status.
One can find love in fulfillment in all sorts of endeavors and relationships outside of the romantic sphere.
But even these days, there are some who still try to define others, especially women, by their marital status.
Just ask Jennifer Aniston. Despite being a world-renowned actress whose work has brought joy to many, the Chief Creative Officer of a health supplement brand, and having her own haircare line— the media consistently brings up her past marriages to Brad Pitt and Justin Theroux.
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As Aniston has stated, “We are complete with or without a mate.”
And let’s talk facts here.
If you want to be in a healthy lasting marriage or relationship you have to be whole within yourself before you can take on a partner.
Society has seen the ill effects of people who get married for the sake of getting married because that’s what society has made them feel like they have to do to be considered “successful” in life.
It’s why the divorce rate is so high.
Our worth can NEVER be dependent on another person. The only person who can determine our worth is us. Not society or our husband or wife.
Unfortunately, people like Aniston have been literally harassed about their marital or maternal status most of their lives.
And this has caused Aniston “rage.”
It’s also created a slew of self-esteem problems that can affect other areas outside of one’s romantic life including their career and relationships with others.
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It can be especially damaging to young women who are being told that they need to grow up and be perfect so a prince can choose them, instead of feeling confident and choosing to love themselves.
These women, and men, will spend their lives seeking love outside of themselves.
“The best partners are ones that believe that healthy relationships and strong partnerships are solidified when two independent and unique people mutually agree that the goal of their marriage is to help the other person be the best version of themselves. And for a wife, this can only happen when you choose to love yourself more than your spouse,” states an article in Marriage.com.
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“Here’s where I come out on this topic: we are complete with or without a mate, with or without a child. We get to decide for ourselves what is beautiful when it comes to our bodies. That decision is ours and ours alone. Let’s make that decision for ourselves and for the young women in this world who look to us as examples. Let’s make that decision consciously, outside of the tabloid noise. We don’t need to be married or mothers to be complete. We get to determine our own “happily ever after” for ourselves,” Aniston wrote in an essay published on Huff Post.
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While Aniston is less interested in the idea of marriage, she has not shut herself off from the possibility of love.
“It’s [marriage] not on my radar. I’m interested in finding a fantastic partner and just living an enjoyable life and having fun with one another. That’s all we should hope for. It doesn’t have to be etched in stone in legal documents,” Aniston told People. “I’m in a really peaceful place. I have a job that I love, I have people in my life who are everything to me, and I have beautiful dogs. “I’m just a very fortunate and blessed human being.”
None of us need to get married or fall in love.
But if you have the chance, you should go for it.
Just leave society’s expectations out of it and love yourself first so your relationship can be a healthy one.
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