Marriages made in campus last longer

Recent research has shown that most people today find the love of their lives while in campus. That person you skip classes with, copy assignments from, spend Valentine’s laying on the grass behind the library with, exchange mwakenyas during exams with and attend The Kansoul concerts at the graduation square with could be the person you end up marrying.

Research has also shown that such marriages — born, bred, and blossomed in campus grounds — tend to last longer than those of couples that meet at workplaces or on the streets or during media trips to the Amboseli over nyama choma.

Take worldly known famous couples – such as Kate Middleton and Prince William; Bill and Hillary Clinton; Stephen and Tabitha King; Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan – for instance. All beautiful love stories written in campus and still blooming out here, in the real world. Even here in Kenya we have some of our own, such as Yafesi and Joyce Musoke, Kanji Mbugua and Mwendie, as well as Nameless and Wahu; showbiz’s favourite couple and, perhaps, the oldest surviving of them all.

We ask psychologist Ken Munyua his opinion on this research and whether or not he thinks it’s really true that campus couples succeed more in marriages and he says,

“Well, I wouldn’t dismiss or second it as I wasn’t part of the research.” He adds that, “But if it’s true, then it could be because couples who meet in campus know each other for a long time since they go through more or less the same experiences and challenges hence it’s easier for them to connect and fall in love; real love.” He further adds that, “As opposed to out here where people just meet and have not the faintest clue about each other or what the other person have been through yet are just trying to force each other into fitting into each other’s lives.”

Speaking to David Mathenge, alias Nameless, on his marriage to Wahu which began while they were still both in campus, he says, “I think there’s an advantage to meeting your wife in campus because there’s that element of the underlying respect you’ll have for each other throughout that period that will stick with each one if you through marriage.

“Plus, if you start dating someone in campus, you grow with this person and learn more about each other as time progresses.” Asked if he thinks he would have lasted as long as he has with Wahu had they met out here in the world, Nameless says, amidst a soft laugh, that, “Well, knowing Wahu and myself, I think we have these two personalities that powerfully complement each other so even if we had met out here, I think we would still be together. I’d like to hope we’d still be together.”