Ideas

Three Rules for a Lasting Happy Marriage

To keep the flame alive, put love at the center of your life.

First published in The Atlantic on November 6, 2025.

by Arthur C. Brooks, The Atlantic

November 13, 2025 | reading time: 7 Min.

One of the Beatles’ most beloved songs is “When I’m Sixty-Four,” the second track on Side 2 of their groundbreaking 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It features a 24-year-old Paul McCartney singing to his lover, asking whether she will still love him in the distant future, when he is a hopelessly ancient and decrepit 64-year-old.