Marriage is so many things at so many different times. It can be hilarious, wild, sexy, frustrating, boring, exciting, and productive and then suddenly turn on its head and be 15 other things all at once. But the one thing almost everyone tells brides-to-be and women in general is that marriage is "hard." I am not sure I would agree, though.

I guess it really depends on your definition of "hard." It can be challenging, but many good things are. Sometimes compromise can be a bummer and you would really rather do your own thing. Sometimes sharing the remote is depressing when you would rather watch your own show, but I would never say that marriage itself is "hard."

With a divorce rate hovering around 50 percent, a figure I see very clearly in my personal life, it's easy to see why so many people think the current model of marriage is dead. Clearly, this "'til death do us part" stuff isn't working for a whole lot of people and something has to give. After all, why do so few marriages really make it over the long haul?

Writer Emma Johnson discusses this in her latest blog post on Wealthy Single Mommy. She says marriage is dead and we need a new model. In particular, we need a 10-year contract that we can either renew or discard depending on how the marriage is working.

The truth is, she is right. For some people, the old model IS dead. Actually, not just for some people. It isn't working for about half the population. That's a whole lot of people. If half the population were infected by some kind of disease, we would want to cure it, right? But what could really "cure" marriage? Is the idea of "forever" really just dead in the water?

"Sex Confessions" is a series featuring your naughtiest bedroom secrets and fantasies. Some will sound familiar, others may give you ideas, some will turn you on, and some are dark and twisted. You might want to sit down for this.

We all know how difficultt it can sometimes be to have sex in your own house when you have kids around. Some of us can get creative, but some of our kids are far too sneaky. Pauline and John* have three kids under 10, two dogs, and a cat. Someone always wants something. And naturally, Pauline and John really want each other. They have what may be the world's coolest solution: They go to a friend's house to have sex. It's a unique arrangement but it sure beats spending money on a hotel room. I'll let Pauline explain.

Can a guy make a great husband but a lousy father? After all, there's not much of a way to tell if a man will make a great dad, unless he already has kids when you meet. Otherwise, you go by how he acts with you. What kind of a boyfriend he is. What kind of a husband. Maybe you get a feeling based on how he acts with his nephews, or random kids in the park. Maybe he's a great furdad, or he always waters his plants. So from there you make the leap -- he'll make a great dad too! So you go ahead and have kids. And then you suddenly realize, wait a second, he actually kind of sucks at this. That's the dilemma this mom of three has.

Any wife who says she never tries to look good for her husband is probably lying. The reality is, no matter how long you have been married, you still want your husband to fancy you and find you irresistible. But what about OTHER men finding you hot?

A British writer (in the Daily Mail, of course) says that IS the key to a spicy marriage. In an article titled, "Why It's Every Woman's Job to Make Other Men Fancy Her," writer Angela Epstein explains that it really is a wife's duty to make sure she is pulling attention from other men to bring out her man's "inner neanderthal."

I kind of get what she is trying to say. Kind of. The reality is, the kind of attractive that appeals to women and the kind that appeals to men are often two very different things.

When you're a bride-to-be, fun, fluttery, bubbly pre-wedding talk seems to fall into one of two categories: "OMG, tell me about the wedding!" or "Ooh, what a fairy tale!" (Things like the proposal, the dress, the future spouse in general can all fall into the latter.) No wonder that after tying the knot, some couples experience a total freakout/reality check. Like it or not, there's a lot more to marriage than happily ever after. Like paying the bills.

Then again, lots of couples live together and pay the bills together for a long time before getting married. My now-fiance and I lived together for five years before getting engaged. So what could really be all that different once we say "I do"? As I'm learning, nothing necessarily, but there are a bevy of financial possibilities and responsibilities -- both positive and negative -- associated with becoming Mr. and Mrs.  

When I got divorced 10 years ago, I stayed in the house that my then-husband and I had bought. After everything was finalized, I slowly began making some changes at home to reflect my newly single status.

The things I tackled first were the ones that were the most intimate between my ex and me. Anything that touched his bare body? Gone. Things that reminded me of long-ago promises? Gone. (Except, of course, our children. I didn’t get rid of them. They’re wonderful, and probably my best reminder of what was good about my marriage.)

After I finally got around to making those changes, I realized I should have made them a lot sooner. Because they stopped me from looking around the house and seeing memories of my failed marriage. Instead, I looked around and was able to see my bright future.

Out of everything I replaced, these 10 were the ones that made the most impact in my day-to-day life.

Not all surprises are good ones. No one knows that better than a woman in a relationship. I have a friend who met and married the so-called man of her dreams within six months. A year later, he dropped a major bombshell -- he had been married before. Even more shocking: He had been married twice before. For whatever reason, it never previously came up. That was probably just as much her fault as it was his. She clearly didn't ask enough questions. But sometimes, nothing can compare us for the crap that comes out of their mouths. Check out the 15 things a woman never wants to hear her man say.