\n<\/p>\n
Counselling director Theresa Pong said common mismatches she sees among couples relate to finances, parenting and career aspirations. She emphasised the importance of addressing such issues early, ideally during courtship.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMisalignments do not end a relationship, but the avoidance of having a difficult conversation to talk about this misalignment does actually break a relationship,\u201d said Ms Pong, who founded The Relationship Room, a marriage counselling service.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fact, if you don’t have these conversations, you will start to build up resentment and unhappiness. This erodes the emotional connection, which will impact marital satisfaction.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The couple Mr Pua, 29, and Ms Chua, 27, took steps to address those issues early, attending a six-week marriage preparation course before tying the knot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was helpful was that we really had a lot of conversations. (At the) marriage preparation course, we had the opportunity to talk about \u2026 practical things,\u201d said Ms Chua, adding those included expectations around children and careers, and even the role of in-laws.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n