I find this discussion interesting. I'm in my mid 40's and have never been married, mainly because I am VERY independent. I figure I have to endue so much compromise in my professional life (aka, a job) that at this time in my life, I refuse to accept any in my personal life.
In my job, I have to answer to a boss all day long, five days a week. But when I'm on my time, I do what I want, when I want, and spend money on whatever I want, and I never have to ask anybody's permission. I like that.
I've often wondered if/when I retire, if I would be willing to then accept compromise in my personal life, since I wouldn't have anymore in my professional life. I'm not sure I could. I've grown to enjoy my freedom.
One thing is for sure, however, and this relates to the financial aspects of this forum topic...if I ever did get married, two things would be a given:
1. No comingling of income or funds. There would be "ours", "yours", and "mine". The "ours" bucket would be funded from both incomes and used to pay common expenses. The other two would be each person's own money and used for whatever they wanted. I've personally seen family members' marriages implode because of mixed funds and financial arguments (not to mention divorce), and I would never go down that path.
2. Prenup would be required. Assuming I manage to accumulate enough over the next couple years to retire and quit the 9-to-5 world, I am not putting that at risk for any person. I have a sister who's been divorced three times, so I've seen ugly divorces play out in the family in person. Not putting myself at risk of that, no matter how much I feel I love the other person. Prenup protects us both, and if that's seen as un-romantic...tough. I am not going back into the working world due to losing everything I have in a messy divorce.
I guess it's a good thing getting married isn't a life goal of mine. I doubt these sentiments would be seen as desirable traits by the fairer sex
If it ever happens, fine. If not, I'm okay with that, too.