What makes a marriage work? Couples share their thoughts

Sharing a special moment together. Photo: Freepik

Couples share with StarLifestyle what they think makes a healthy relationship and marriage.

Adnan M, 31, and Rozita M, 29

“I think Datuk Siti Zailah’s comments are out of context. While it is a fact that is stated in the Quran, what she said is misleading because it’s not in its proper context,” says Adnan.

“My husband has never ever hit me, not even raised his voice at me. He’s always been kind and spoken gently to me. He even helps me with housework,” says Rozita.

“For us, what makes a marriage work is trust and communication. It’s important to always be each other’s best friend, communicate and have fun together. In fact, this is taught by Prophet Muhammad in Islam,” says Adnan.

Spending time together is important. Photo: Freepik

Jonathan Liew, 29, and Marie Lim, 34

“What makes a marriage work to us? Trust, communication, give-and-take,” says Marie.

“Mutual respect and making sure your words or actions won’t hurt the other person. Always consider how they’ll feel first,” adds Jonathan.

“Yes, my wife is older than me. But it doesn’t matter to me,” he adds.

“He’s quite mature even though he’s younger. And most importantly, we’re on the same wavelength,” says Marie.

When there's a disagreement, take time out to cool down first before talking about it again. Photo: Freepik

Wafeeq A, 24, and Sheena L, 24

“We’re a young couple who just got married last year. I think it’s wrong for a man to hit his wife, whether it’s softly or not. If you disagree about something, then why can’t you just talk to each other directly?” says Wafeeq.

“If we have a disagreement, we’ll usually have a time out to cool down first before talking about it again. This is what we’ve practised in our relationship and it works,” says Sheena.

“Yes, he does help me with the housework,” says Sheena.

“During the MCO when I couldn’t go to work, I was a househusband,” says Wafeeq. (the couple looks at each other and laughs).

Be each other’s best friend, communicate and have fun together. Photo: Freepik

Andy Muthusamy, 48, and Marina Ling, 36

“What makes a marriage work for us is understanding each other’s love language. We learnt this in church. There are five: words of affirmation, quality time, physical touch, acts of service (deeds) and receiving gifts,” says Andy.

“It’s necessary for a couple to know each other’s love language so that you can love them the way that they wish to be loved,” says Marina.

“As a multi-cultural couple, we didn’t face that many issues because we have more in common than different. Both of us met in church and have the same faith so that helps a lot,” says Andy.

It’s necessary for a couple to know each other’s love language so that you can love them the way that they wish to be loved. Photo: Freepik