Unless they manage to hitch up before a judge or magistrate, couples are rarely permitted to tie the knot without submitting to one or more outdated custom, designed to bring them health, good fortune and a tiny measure of humiliation.   This is true around the world. Here're a few examples: Germany Following the ceremony, a young German couple is required to work together to saw a log in half.  According to Southern Bride Magazine, the act is designed to demonstrate the bride and groom's ability to work together.  Presumably, the wedding is annulled if one of them loses a finger. Fiji In Fiji, the bridegroom must gift his [...]

Photo courtesy the Daily Mirror. Since writing Case #1 in the ongoing saga that is modern-day dating, I've been inundated with stories about on-line mis-matches and first dates that quickly became last dates. There's the married man, pretending to be single, who arranged to meet at a neighborhood bar.  Five minutes into the conversation, he leaned over to ask if she liked oral sex. Then there's the elderly gentlemen who came out of the bathroom totally naked.  When his date was not impressed, he upped the game with some body poses he must have practiced in front of a foggy mirror. She left before he could [...]

Situated in Tokyo's largest nightlife district, HOTEL & SPA J-MEX Shinjuku Kabukicho is a love hotel designed for adults only. Looking to spice up your love life?  You might consider a trip to Japan, where pay-by-the-hour love hotels are trending up. My friend Wendy sent me an article from  National Geographic, which says there are more than 30,000 "love hotels" in the country, and hundreds in Tokyo alone.  By contrast, there are only three similar-concept hotels in Chicago. (Sybaris Northbrook, Downers Grove, and Frankfort.) The Japanese version offers themed rooms ranging from Disneyland to BDSM* dungeons with a smattering of fantasies and fetishes between. Some come [...]

I consider myself social-media savvy.  I blog, I tweet, I have two Facebook pages. And I'm beginning to use Instagram for more than grandkid viewing. But Pinterest?  Not so much.  I was willing to dismiss it (along with scrap-booking and bird watching) as a time-filler for the underemployed. WRONG!  Turns out Pinterest is a great source for keen observations about marriage and relationships.  Here are some samples: "Her nagging is a sign that she cares.  Silence means she's plotting your death." "Before you marry a person, you should make them use a computer with slow internet to see who they really are." -- Will Ferrell. "Never laugh at [...]

Married for 53 years, I missed out on Tinder, Match.com, break-up texts, electronic background checks and incidents like the following story (which I swear is true). It was a long hard winter in Chicago.  A brutal month of sub-zero temperatures was followed by a mind-numbing month of never-ending snow storms. So, Melissa, a 50ish single woman, got a little bored and decided to place an ad on Craigslist under the heading:  "Shoe Shopping/Foot Massage." She also took the precaution of creating an email account using a fictitious name. She got 50 responses. Weeding out the haters, the crazies and the scary, she landed on one that sounded like [...]

It seems that Middle-Aged British women are doing more than brewing tea and crocheting doilies these days. IllicitEncounters.com, which bills itself as the UK’s leading dating website for married people, has seen a 30% year-over-year increase in the number of 40+ women signing up to the site. Furthermore, most of these women are looking to share their beds (at least temporarily) with younger men. The cheating site surveyed a sample of more than 500 married women over the age of 40 who signed up for their service.  Findings revealed as many as 25% had an affair with someone 15 to 20 years younger than themselves, 37% have had [...]

Joan Collins and husband Percy Gibson With five marriages under her belt, Joan Collins has finally found the formula for marital bliss. The secret, reported in the Irish Examiner, is separate bathrooms.  The 84-year-old actress has been married to Percy Gibson, 34 years her junior, since 2002 None of her previous husbands (Maxwell Reed, Anthony Newley, Ron Kass and Peter Holm) lasted nearly as long, so she may be on to something. Separate but equal is a formula that works for many couples. My friend Julie insists on separate bedrooms because her husband's snoring keeps her up all night. Melania Trump has a similar requirement. (And [...]

Allen Eyestone / The Palm Beach Post In 1953, the Ladies Home Journal introduced one of its most popular features, "Can This Marriage Be Saved."  Every month, a troubled couple would detail their problems, while a professional therapist provided the solution. What would the magazine say about the current marital discord in the White House? First, Melania has to put up with a story that her husband cheated on her with a porn star; then she finds out that she wasn't the only one he was cheating on.  There was also the "Playmate of the Year" he started seeing two months after their son was born. [...]

What says romance more than the Luxe Bidet Neo 120 (Elite Series) - Self Cleaning Nozzle - Fresh Water Non-Electric Mechanical Bidet Toilet Attachment w/ Strong Faucet Valves and Metal Hoses For a lucky few, today will be a day of roses, champagne and a romantic candlelit dinner.  For the rest of us?   Just one more failure by the man in our life to suitably demonstrate his love and affection. A few weeks ago, I announced a "Bad Gift Contest," and the response was overwhelming.  Who knew there were so many clueless men out there?  Oh, wait, we did.  That's why we ran the contest in [...]

In my ongoing effort to keep you, the reader, abreast of the latest developments in love and marriage, I offer the following stories from around the world There's an App for that? In Hong Kong, the family service unit of the Catholic Church has launched a "marriage checkup" app (for both Android and IOS phones).  Utilizing cutting edge technology, the app helps couples, who have been married at least 10 years, assess their relationship. Questions include how often they have sex, argue or discuss life decisions and how many times the thought of marriage crossed their minds.  A low score sends them to a page advising them to [...]