For engaged couples and newly weds who are planning their future together the thought of staying together, making their relationship work, and beating the average 52% divorce rate can seem like a daunting task. Many times the media also tries to feed us unhealthy stereotypes about marriage and relationships and what to expect. Here is some advise on starting your marriage off on the right foot.

1. Be engaged for a long enough period of time to know that you love your fiancée and want to be with him forever, yet not too long that he doesn't see why you need to get married at all. You know, the whole "why buy the cow if you get the milk for free" philosophy.

2. Marry your best friend. Dating and romance is great, but if that is all you have, you won't last more than a few months.

3. Never undermine or criticize your spouse in front of others. Never compete with your spouse, but rather support him and cheer him on in every good thing that he does.

4. Don't be afraid to fight. Good fights will strengthen your marriage, because the rough edges have to be polished between the two of you. When you do fight, do it respectfully. Stick to the issues, listen to the other person, compromise and negotiate. Learn to recognize that sometimes when your spouse argues about something with you're their may be a deeper issue or concern that you need to discuss and hash out.

5. Men and women are different and communicate differently at times. Respect his interests, views and values and don't try to change him into your "ideal man".

6. Develop meaningful relationships with other people and don't expect your spouse to entertain you 24 hours a day. Give each other space. Your spouse needs time to be alone, to have private thoughts and space to breathe.

7. Be your own, well-rounded, mature, and independent person. Don't marry someone to make you happy. Be happy by yourself and with yourself first.

8. Communicate your thoughts and feelings with your partner. Don't expect him to be a mind reader and "just know" the right things to say and do or be able to tell when you are angry. If he asks you how you are doing and you say, "I'm fine" then he'll think you are fine. You need to tell your husband that you are upset, angry, sad, worried, etc. about something in order to solve the problem or let him know how you feel.

9. Wait until you are both ready to have children. You need some time to get to know each other first before you should plan on having children.

10. Remember, marriage takes work. It's not always romance and flowers and running together on the beach hand-in-hand. Being the woman in the relationship means you might have to do more of the work in keeping the relationship together and keeping the lines of communication flowing. Why do you think most self-help books are for women? If you truly love one another and are best friends, you can make your marriage work if you work on it together.