As several comments have pointed out, half of all marriages end in divorce. Does that mean the other half of married couples are happy?

We crave connection, yes. And loneliness is a huge determinant of our behavior. But marriage, like most of our social institutions, does more for men more than it does for women, who are often trapped in unfulfilling lives supporting self-absorbed men who later swap them out for younger models.

As writers, our challenge is to tell some better stories, stories of women empowered and empowering. Those stories are being lived out publicly, so we should celebrate them. But our fiction also needs to represent the world we're striving for, a world where your choice strikes no one as anything but common sense.