US author Lori Gottlieb has caused something of a stir by claiming that women in their thirties should stop looking for Mr Right and settle for Mr Second Best instead.
Gottlieb reckons that women who hold out on marriage while searching for the perfect partner are in danger of finishing up lonely and depressed. She claims that despite the rise of feminism most women want to get married and start a family and accepting this is the path to true happiness.
She says: “Every woman I know – no matter how successful and ambitious, how financially and emotionally secure – feels panic, occasionally coupled with desperation, if she hits 30 and finds herself unmarried.”
Gottlieb also points to books, film and television as guilty parties in promoting the myth that there is always the one out there for everyone and it is just a matter of finding him.
The reality, she claims, is that the kind of romantic love promoted in the media does not guarantee a happy ever after and, often, a successful marriage is the result of a partnership based on more mundane factors such as trust and reliability – and you don’t need to find Prince Charming in order to achieve this.
The book – Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr Good Enough is available to pre-order from amazon