To never expect a romantic relationship to last a lifetime?

[Zorbathegeek]

I've lurked on MN a good few years, have posted here and there and now post under a different name since the email problems a while back, but here's my first OP, hope that's OK!

Having read lots and lots of threads here, I'm really interested in the expectations people have when they go into romantic relationships. In particular, it seems to me that after reading others' experiences here, I may be unusual in that I've never had any expectation that a relationship would last for the rest of my life (I've had a number of extremely happy, 'settled', long-term relationships, being rather old now). I don't have children, and this could be the reason, though I must say, if it had happed with any of them, I would have been happy.

Anyway I'm posting because I recently read a thread about people who get married knowing they won't have children, because they know that this is the person they want to spend the rest of their life with. I found this really interesting and it clearly seems the norm, at least here, but for me, it is personally perplexing because it's just not something I have ever felt. I really don't think I could promise to love someone forever.

Am I weird?

OP I suppose what I meant by failure is that it wasn't an equal rl and was abusive so ended very badly,
you are right that I did learn alot from that relationship but I feel I learned a lot more from my 2nd/last ltr as although we were not suited for long term,
We both parted as friends and with more knowledge of what we wanted in life and from relationships so it was successful in a way..I have made a personal choice to stay away from ltr for the moment as it's all iv ever done.

regenerationfez- we've talked about marriage a fair bit and tbh it's the expectations of the wedding not the marriage that put us off. I've suggested just the two of us at the registry office one Tuesday morning but he insists on his parents... then my dad.. then we can't leave out siblings and partners....then if we're having family then Auntie so and so would come..then if we're having family why not friends?..... And it all sounds like so much hard work and we decide not to bother again!!

Yes We wanted a small wedding that turned into a horror full of people I have not seen since. I thought of it was my parents day. Now it's a story and a few pictures. Luckily we had a registry office wedding too, which was lovely and had everyone there that we wanted. The cwedding isn't important for nn the whole scheme of things