Married Couples Are Now Taking “Solomoons” Instead of Honeymoons

Who said marriage always meant compromise?

solomoon
Sunset over La Concha Beach. Kinga Philipps)

Who wants to take a honeymoon when you can take a solomoon? Many married couples are forgoing the honeymoon for their own personal travel, reports The New York Times. 

Some couples prefer to take longer vacations, with breaks from each other in the middle. Others need to travel for work, so cannot travel together. Some couples see individual freedom as key to a relationship, and even more just don’t want to give up on their idea of a perfect vacation spot, even if it means their partner isn’t there.

“Frankly, the idea of separate honeymoons may signal the continued evolution of marriage,” Jessica Carbino said to The Times. She is an online dating expert and a sociologist for the dating app Bumble. “Given the recognition that foremost couples today, marriage and partnership is considered all-consuming, with the partner needing to fulfill every role — physical, spiritual, emotional and sexual — perhaps separate vacations is a recognition among some couples that all expectations cannot be met by a single person.”

But are separate honeymoons a good idea? Helen Fisher, a senior research fellow at the Kinsey Institute, doesn’t think so. She told The Times that all three brain systems — romantic love, feelings of deep attachment, and sex drive — are all triggered when couples vacation together. Plus, weddings are massive transitions, even if you have been living with your partner for over a decade.

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