This is not to say that marriage is less important than it was in the past. But it is important for different reasons. In the mid-20th century, there was nothing exceptional about marriage. Respectable people married; there was no other decent way to share a home with a partner. Shame attached to those who bore children out of wedlock. Spinsters and bachelors were suspect, the subject of collective social wonder.
This is an interesting article. There might even be some truth to it. I am personally very glad that, at least in the west, society is more flexible about living arrangements and domestic partnerships. Marriage is a public celebration of a private commitment. Love, real love that puts another person's hopes and dreams right up there equal to your own - love is hard. The film My Dinner with Andre includes these lines: But have a real relationship with a person that goes on for years—well, that's completely unpredictable. Then, you've cut off all your ties to the land, and you're sailing into the unknown, into uncharted seas.
I would tend to agree with that.