Why Aren’t More People Getting Married? Ask Women What Dating Is Like.
11th November 2023
Sarah Camino had been in a relationship for two years when she found out she was pregnant. The father, whom she met while they were both working at a restaurant in Times Square, was initially excited. But he had been using drugs lately, and had been fired from his last four jobs; when she ventured that she was scared she might wind up raising the child alone, he got defensive and walked out. She and her daughter now live in Florida with her parents, and he is not a part of their lives.
Sounds as if they’re better off for it.
Ms. Camino, a beautician and hospitality worker, checks all the boxes of the demographic that has been targeted for advice in recent months by an array of columnists and authors, who have argued for the promotion and prioritizing of marriage, sometimes for the sake of overall happiness, but more often for the sake of children’s well-being.
With the results as you see them.
She’s a 37-year-old single mother without a college degree. She cares deeply about her child’s happiness and about providing her with a good future.
But not enough, apparently, to get married first.
When I asked what she made of the advice to get married, though, she was skeptical. “I don’t think things are perfect like that,” she told me. She had planned to stay with the father, but that’s not how it happened. “I didn’t think he was gonna leave me like this,” she said.
Better yet, ask men whether they would want to marry a Modern Woman. I certainly wouldn’t.