There’s no formula for a happy marriage. Every couple is different and has their own way of navigating wedlock.

Still, it doesn’t hurt to hear some pointers from couples who have been together for a while. That was the thinking behind the following question Nightpatrol404 put to r/AsReddit:

‘Married people of Reddit, what’s your most unhinged marriage hack?’

Keep the divorce rate down by heeding this advice…

1.

‘When we were expecting a baby, I read a parenting book on gentle parenting. There was a chapter about how to communicate with a toddler (get them to express their feelings/get their point of view,, set boundaries, get them to do what you want, etc)

‘I use those techniques on my spouse and it works amazingly well’
-lurksFromToilet

2.

‘We both suck at deciding on low stakes stuff, so we have a rule. If we can’t pick a movie or show to watch within a strict 5 minutes (we literally set a timer), we have to watch Sharknado.’
-EvilAbed57

3.

‘I love having double dates with longterm couples that should have broken up years ago and hate each other. It has us reconvening at the end of the evening with so much to talk about and usually ends up with a “I appreciate you so much” “no I appreciate you so much” “youre amazing” “you are the best and I love you”‘
-pixieshouse

4.

‘If your marriage is getting stale, start a feud with another couple. Nothing restores marital solidarity like having mutual enemies’
-pzschrek1

5.

‘When my husband is telling me an asinine or super boring story, I pretend that I died and asked God for 5 more minutes with my family and these are the 5 minutes I get.’
-ankareeda

6.

‘When I’m mad at him, I ask myself “if he died in a car crash would I still be upset about this?” And most of the time it’s no, so I let it go. But!! There are definitely some times where I’m like mmm no I’d still be pissed. Sad, but pissed!’
-aomegajones

7.

‘I flash my husband whenever he takes his weekly med (a med he has to take once per week) to help him remember to take it. We’ve done this since we were dating. It genuinely helps.’
-PhoForBrains

8.

‘We’ve agreed that I’m the boss of him and he’s the boss of me. But only when one of us is refusing to do something for ourselves that we need to do.

‘For example: putting off making an appointment with the dentist? “I’m the boss of you and I say you have to call them.” Boom, gotta call the dentist, the boss said so.

‘We only use our power for good!’
-needmoredoggos

9.

‘“Cheese stick!” This is our reset button. It started as a way to head off toddler tantrums caused by hangry little people. It’s evolved to be one of the best ways to help stave off arguments and reset.

‘Offering some one a cheese stick means I love you and want to take care of you despite you being upset with me/the world/someone else.’
-n3rdchik

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