Entering into marriage has fundamentally changed between the Boomer and Millennial generations. Boomers entered so-called “cornerstone” marriages, that occurred when both parties were young and built their lives together with each other as their focus. It was assumed that challenges would eventually emerge, and everyone involved would have to work together to overcome them. Traditionally, getting married was the defining moment of entering adulthood and the foundation of a successful life. It seemed logical and it worked, but the big challenge faced by cornerstone marriages is the gradual drifting apart of the couple because they married before they had gained self-awareness. Today, less than a quarter of marriages are between the young.

In the past half-century, there has been a massive shift in how people get married to so-called “capstone” marriage between adults who have reached the pinnacle of maturity. They are focused on bettering themselves first by pursuing higher education and extracurricular activities to achieve the highest level of autonomy possible. They want to feel complete and at ease within themselves before inviting someone else into their lives, settling down and starting a family. According to recent polls, there is a two-thirds approval of this kind of marriage. However, there is no evidence that capstone marriages are more successful than cornerstone, and in fact, it’s projected that almost half of all women will be single and childless at age 40.