I'm on my second marriage. The first one definitely was not a great love - the voice in my head even told me to say "no" as he was proposing, but the word out of my mouth was "yes", and then everything seemed to happen around me. I was 18 at the time, married two years later, divorced at 26.
Now, I think I am. This one has taken me from the skinny, scared little thing that my ex-husband turned me into, who was frightened of everyone, unwilling to try anything, speak to anyone, or go anywhere. The person who had lost all self-confidence, who used to just go to work and then straight home, who didn't eat, who hid away all day, even on days off into the person I am now. I achieved a life-long dream I'd had since I was six of living and working in London, I'm now in a career I'd dream of all of my life, I'm so much healthier and happier than I've been in a decade. I've got confidence abound, I'm not scared of any situation I've found myself in, even in deepest, darkest Streatham. Without someone believing in me, it wouldn't have happened.
He's a lot older than me, so I'm constantly preparing for the day that I'll be left a widow as that's the most likely outcome. No-one likes to consider it when they're young, but I'm a realist.