I watched my parents stay married for us kids and it made them miserable. When my sibling and I left the house I thought they would divorce then but they didn't, they were comfortable and it made for a terrible life for them both.

Now that my father is dead, my mother always speaks of what a wonderful man he was but that's just nostalgia for an age that never existed.

I'm not sure we're meant to be together "forever." If the relationship is healthy, it grows, meaning both partners are changing. That change can cause the entire relationship to change, sometimes for the better or worse.