Flashpoint: Fewer Getting Married, More Relationships Than Ever, Experts Weigh In
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's Valentines' Day and while stats show that fewer Americans are getting married, more people are in relationships than ever before.
According to the Pew Research Center, 88 percent of American say love is the number one reason to get married or to make a long term commitment.
"Before marriage served a certain tangible function for a person's life," says Ben King, relationship therapist based in the Greater Philadelphia area. He says now that more women work and the law doesn't require marriage to legitimize children more people are choosing not to get married. But when couples choose marriage..
"One thing that always strikes me is how much people want to be married," said Margaret Klaw, founder of Berner, Klaw and Watson, a family law firm. "I work with people all the time that are devastated their marriage is not working."
Dr. Paul Gittens, founder of the Centers for Sexual Medicine of Philadelphia and New York joins the discussion, which digs into "love" from dating to marriage and divorce and all the dysfunction in between.
Other guests include authors Kevin Patterson of "Love is Not Colorbline" and Rebecca Hiles "It's called Polyamory." The duo are in a relationship, but Patterson is married.
The two dig into open marriages and why it's becoming more popular. Finally, the owner of Yogetree explains why self love is not selfish.
Flashpoint airs Saturday nights at 9:30 and Sunday morning at 8:30.