What would they have to do with then?
'Marriages of Convenience' he might be referring to, sir.
I wasn't actually thinking of marriages of convenience but now that you're mentioning them, they are a logical outcome of what I had in mind.
I was merely referring to the fact that in real life, a lot of people end up being in a relationship and when you get to know them and realize how different their personalities are, you start wondering why they ended up being together in the first place. Even more intriguing is the fact why they keep being together. And the worst of it is, I guess, that if you asked them why they were a couple, they wouldn't be able to give you a satisfactory explanation. Naturally, love has little to do with it - it most probably had little to do with it in the first place.
A guy I know married a girl five years ago - they are about to file for a divorce. Does that surprise me? Absolutely not knowing the circumstances under which they met. They had been standing in a line at the post office, the girl standing right in front of the boy. The boy didn't say a word but secretly stole a look at the sender on the envelope, made a mental note of the name, went home, signalled to the girl on Facebook that he wanted to have her as a "friend" (I guess its called a "friend" on FB, isn't it?) and so their relationship started.
Now they have two children and are about to divorce.
I know most of you will probably think that this is a pretty unconventional way of meeting people but my point is that most couples in my experience hook up without even having an idea of who they are hooking up with no matter if it happens under more traditional circumstances. Then, for God knows what reason, they stay together but in my experience, it has nothing to do with love. Some are just afraid to let go of the other person, some stay together because they've already got used to each other and almost all the others stay together for some equally bizarre reason.
But then, since I'm gay, I could tell you a lot more about gay relationships and they are even worse than straight ones ... Or perhaps not. Heterosexual people often try to keep up the appearances at least ... gays don't even bother with that. So we are perhaps more sincere when comes to relationships.
Still, this won't stop me wondering why most gay couples are together.
WOW.

That is why I am so happy to be single. No matter how you live your life (success or failure; happiness or misfortune), you are the only one responsible there ... even if some compaise to blame the others or the society in which they live !
I know the feeling ... Nevertheless I'm a hopeless romantic still secretly hoping to find my real-life Tom Paris (there's actually a guy I know who is very much like Tommyboy but he is straight, of course ...

). And if I don't, then I always have Voyager ...
(BTW, sorry for the belated reply ... I'm in the middle of house-hunting now and of course the fact that third estate agent turned out to have lied yesterday doesn't help ...

I'll try to pop in more frequently today ...)