Stolen from another board -- How many serious relationships have you & your FI had?

grumbledore

I thought this was an interesting question.

My FI is my 5th serious relationship, including a previous marriage and one live-in boyfriend.  I think really I'm his first serious relationship although he dated quite a bit.  I'll be 33, he'll be 34 when we get married.

CMGragain

Interesting question!  In retrospect, I would say two.  Thank goodness I didn't marry the first one!  DH had a brief relationship in college, but she dumped him.

JCbride2015

We are each other's first serious relationship.  We've been together since high school.  We will be 29 and 27 when we get married next year.

I really hate when people tell me I should experiment and date other men.  I got lucky on the first shot, I don't feel the need to walk away from something great just to have a higher "number."

singinchick13

I would say FI has had one long-term relationship before me, but not really 'serious' because they were so young. I've had three before FI, including one live-in BF. I'm going to be 26 and he will be 28 when we get married.

pinkshorts27

He is my first. I dated a few guys before then, but we are high school sweethearts (just graduating from graduate school). Our 7 years in on Tuesday! yay. 

bethsmiles

We're each others' first serious relationship. I dated a couple of guys in high school but it was never serious and I'm the first person my SO has ever dated.

AddieCake

I am almost 41, and my husband is my 5th serious relationship if we are counting my high school/college boyfriend of 3 years. My husband is 36, and I am his 3rd serious relationship. He was married for like 8 years before we got together.

banana468

DH is my third serious relationship.   I dated someone from HS into college which lasted a little over a year.   My college boyfriend and I dated for 2.5  years.   DH and I have known each other since our freshman year of college but didn't start dating until we were about 24.   

I'm DH"s second serious relationship.   He dated other girls in HS but his serious relationship is his ex GF who he dated for 2.5 years until she dumped him in an email. 

WinstonsGirl

We are each other's first.  I was 30 when we met, he was 39.  He dated occasionally, but was pretty shy around girls and got seriously involved with work.  I dated a bit, but never found anyone I could be bothered to spend more than a couple of months with.  I never saw the point is staying with anyone if I knew there was no chance of it lasting long term.  He was totally worth the wait.  

KeptInStitches

BF is my 4th serious relationship, and I am his 5th.

JennyColada

Well partly it depends on how you define "serious" relationship. I've had 9 relationships with guys that we've said "I love you" and dated for 8+ months. I've had 2 additional relations that are "serious" to me, but that other people might not realize (long distance or we weren't "official").

I've had maybe 4 prior relationship with people that I'd entertained the thought of a life-long commitment.

Fi was never in a relationship where he though of marriage, but he had 2 very long (3+ years) relationships before me.

Peaseblossom55

I think this is FI's 3rd or 4th this is my second .  I consider serious to be anything over 6 months...

LadyMillil

I dated a lot before FI, but no serious relationships. I am his second serious relationship. He was engaged when he was 21, but she ended that over the phone. I am 27 and he is 29.

phira

I had a high school boyfriend, but I don't really consider our relationship to be that serious (in retrospect; at the time, it was a huge deal!).

I had a serious college boyfriend, and I dated someone for about a year after college. So my partner is my third serious relationship. He had some intense, short relationships (so he considers himself to have two ex-girlfriends), but I'm his first relationship that's laster longer than 2-3 months.

Cookie Pusher

FI (34) has only dated one other person, and it was pretty rocky and one-sided. There was an expectation by her that they would get engaged after graduated (FI was more "well, I guess that's what we're supposed to do" instead of "yay, being grown-ups!" about it), but they broke up the summer before senior year. I'm on my 3rd engagement - and the first time I wasn't a Cheater McCheaterson, so I really consider this my first Serious, Grown-Up Relationship.

chibiyui

I had three "serious" relationships, I am FI's first relationship.

MollyandD

My fiancé is my 2nd relationship. I count him as the only serious one, since the previous one lasted less than a year and I never thought we would stay together long. He had more relationships than me, but only one serious girlfriend prior to me. We have been together almost 6 years and will be married in a few months. I'm 25 and he is 32, and we won't have birthdays until after the wedding.

MadHops21

I had one long-term relationship when I was in high school, and so did FI. Other than that, FI is my actual first serious relationship, and vice versa.

It's annoying when people talk about how we are too young to marry. I'll be 24 and he 27 when we marry in a couple years. One of my (ex) girlfriends talked about how she could never marry so young since she wants to live life. I didn't know that getting married meant my life was over...

Blergbot

I've had a few relationships that I considered serious, and where the L word was said, but FI is my first long-term relationship. My previous relationships seemed to all flame out hard and fast after a few months. I think FI had one relationship that he considered serious. We're both in our early to mid 30s.

JMalettas

 I had one serious relationship in high school, and one longterm afterwards. (I don't think I'd really consider the longterm one serious, for reasons that would take too long to explain). So I'd say one for me, and I was his first serious one. We're both in our twenties, & now married. 

MadHops21 said:

I had one long-term relationship when I was in high school, and so did FI. Other than that, FI is my actual first serious relationship, and vice versa.

It's annoying when people talk about how we are too young to marry. I'll be 24 and he 27 when we marry in a couple years. One of my (ex) girlfriends talked about how she could never marry so young since she wants to live life. I didn't know that getting married meant my life was over...

 Ugh, the bold portion is definitely annoying! I would never tell someone, unless they were like 16-(and I was close to them), that they are too young to get married. I think it always depends on the couple, and where they are in their relationship/life. I was 25, and he was 23 when we got married. No one ever said this to us specifically, but I think it's just a stupid statement to make, without any specific reasoning. 

 *J

NavyBlue143

H is my 3rd, thank God I didn't marry #2, he was controlling, and #1 broke my heart no less than 5 times, so thankfully I finally moved on from that. I think I am H's 4th or 5th serious relationship. He was engaged once and had his proposal refused once, poor thing. I think I am the first sane woman he ever dated. So he snagged me while he could

monkeysip

JCBride2014 said:

We are each other's first serious relationship.  We've been together since high school.  We will be 29 and 27 when we get married next year.

I really hate when people tell me I should experiment and date other men.  I got lucky on the first shot, I don't feel the need to walk away from something great just to have a higher "number."

This is me too.  We dated for over 10 years and married at 26.  Certainly you shouldn't stay together with someone just because you get comfortable and don't want to find anyone else, but if you're truly happy with that person, why would you throw that away so that you can say you've tried out other guys?  It always bothered me when people said that, but no one close to me ever said that because they knew how happy we made each other.

CMGragain

When I attended my 40th high school reunion, there were four couples (including us) who were high school sweethearts.  One other couple was divorced early on, but there were major religious differences.  None of the couples were married until after completing college.

pinkcow13

Although we broke up once before like 5 years ago, we are each other's first and most serious relationship. Other than my FI, my hs BF (who is now one of my best friends.) was my more "serious" relationship. I had strong feelings for him, but he was never ready to settle down with me. It was more infatuation I think. When he did come around, we were both at different colleges, And I had already met my FI and the rest is history:)

mysticl

DH is divorced so that was fairly serious.  I'm not sure if he considers any other previous relationships to be serious or not.  

I've had one other serious one but it wasn't nearly as serious as being married.

I was 35 and he was 36 when we got married.  

jdluvr06

FI is my 3rd serious relationship (I'm counting my high school boyfriend because he was my first) and I'm his 2nd.

Jells2dot0

My DH is my third serious relationship. I dated someone in high school for a lengthy period of time and then I was married to my college boyfriend for 2 years. I am DH's second serious relationship. He was married for 12 years to his first wife.

sarahufl

I had an almost year-long relationship in high school that I don't consider to be serious. Two serious relationships, lots of dating and a few short, 2-5 month things over the years. 

FI had 2 pretty serious, plus a broken engagement before me. A few random 2-5 month things.

I will be 31 and he will be 35 when we get married.

firebabe6519

FI is my first relationship, and I am his first "serious" relationship.

FiancB

He is my 2nd. I was previously living with someone and engaged. 2 other semi-relationships that weren't serious. 

Him- he had a high school sweetheart and almost fiance. Maybe 1 or 2 more semi serious 6 monthish relationships. I don't know a ton about his dating history, honestly.

RedJacks25

He is my 2nd "big" relationship. I am his 5th, I think. Though, beyond those, he dated around way more than I like to think about.

When we're married, I'll be 29 and he'll be 34.