JUNE EDITION

Okay, so full disclosure: I just watched a documentary on Ashley Madison, the infamous dating site for married people. Let’s just say my mind is officially blown. 70 million users? That’s 70 million married folks looking for something extracurricular. It’s a statistic that throws you for a loop. Is marriage that overrated? Is “life is short, have an affair,” their tagline, actually true? Part of me wants to believe it is. The number of failed marriages out there is scary. But then you see the sheer amount of cheating; it’s even more terrifying. Are we humans even built for monogamy? Is it just a societal pressure cooker that’s been simmering for centuries? Was marriage ever meant to be this lifelong sentence where the wife’s playing housekeeper? Was it all some patriarchal trick we haven’t figured out yet? Part of me wonders, if the government just flipped a switch and legalized polygamy, would everyone suddenly be hopping around with multiple partners? Are we just animals on a leash, our urges kept in check by societal rules? Is that all love is – a biological urge we’re supposed to control? But then another part of me whispers, “Hold on a second. Of course, there is love! I’ve been with the same man since I was a teenager, and my love for him only grows stronger with time. That’s a beautiful thing. It reminds me that love is more than just a fleeting urge– it’s about the inside jokes, the unspoken understanding, how he makes me feel, and how he loves me for who I truly am. It’s deeper than just fulfilling a basic need. It’s about building a life with someone who makes you feel complete.
But is love temporary? Do our primal instincts just take over eventually? The whole thing has me questioning everything I thought I knew. Maybe the answer isn’t black and white. Maybe monogamy works beautifully for some, while others find happiness in ethical non-monogamy. Who are we to judge anyway? Maybe love isn’t about flipping a switch or breaking free from a leash. Perhaps it’s about building something beautiful and enduring. Ashley Madison might offer a glimpse into a hidden world, but the future of love and marriage is up to us. We can choose to be ruled by primal urges, or by our capacity for growth and understanding. So, what do you think? Is Ashley Madison a sign of the times, or is there hope for happily ever after.