How long should a relationship last before marriage?

The question above is always on the minds of those who have been in a “committed” relationship. However, Marriage is something that should be taken seriously because it involves a lot of commitment. Lifextra sampled people’s opinion on the issue. Nkume Ogechi, an insurance officer and a mother, thinks that relationships shouldn’t be restricted to […]

The question above is always on the minds of those who have been in a “committed” relationship. However, Marriage is something that should be taken seriously because it involves a lot of commitment. Lifextra sampled people’s opinion on the issue.
Nkume Ogechi, an insurance officer and a mother, thinks that relationships shouldn’t be restricted to a time frame. However, it should last as long as a couple can conveniently feel they are ready to take the next step.
“This means that they should have known themselves to a certain level that allows them to be comfortable and okay with making and facing decisions that come with marriage/commitment,” says Ogechi.
She adds that the duration of the courtship should depend on the individuals involved.
Another respondent Taofik Osas also thinks that it shouldn’t be less than one year and not more than five years. 
He told Lifextra “I just believe that the least time you can know a person is one year because anything more than five years becomes too long. It would seem like the guy is wasting the girl’s time.”
“In my own opinion, two years is okay. That should be the highest and then the least should be 6 months,” says Uche Shulammite who is engaged. She adds that it still depends on the couple’s decision on how long they want to date.”
She added that “However, some people fail to take some certain factors into consideration. How committed they would be to each other if they continue in a long term relationship (a relationship that exceeds three years). In other words, the real question these ones need to ask themselves is whether they are willing to commit to each other for the rest of their lives, and whether they trust each other because that trust requires evidence and time to grow.”
A psychologist Dr. Shauna H Springer in her article for psychology today pointed out that “not rushing into a pre-mature commitment is very difficult when we’re in love doesn’t really address the question at hand – that is, how long is it until the cocaine-rush of initial infatuation wears off and you can make a good decision?
She added that “some marital experts would argue that two years is a good amount of time to wait. If you are looking for a general rule of thumb, then two years is probably a good length of time for most people, but I don’t personally favour any hard-and-fast rule about how long a courtship should be. I think it depends completely on the character of the people involved, how often they see each other, in what situation(s) they spend their time dating, and how intentional they are about discovering their degree of fit.”
Dr Shauna explained that extending the courtship period in all cases will progressively minimize the relative risk of developing lasting regrets down the line.
She added that even though lifelong happy marriages are possible within very short courtships, but for every one of such example, a much greater number end in divorce.