How I and my husband stay romantic in our marriage

In essence everyone wants a genuinely successful marriage. The true secrets to creating and maintaining a truly happy union

The type that'll overcome the hurdles that several modern marriages seem incapable of crossing.

But staying in a marriage, keeping it happy and ensuring that the romance in it stays as true and effective as ever requires work.

It requires a lot of real, active effort because as Tara Fela-Durotoye put it in a recent interview with Pulse,  people “go into marriage thinking that the feeling they had [when they just met their spouse] will forever stay that way, but they don’t realise that there are times when it’s not there.”

The five couples below reached this phase in their marriages, and according to Women’s Health, here are the 5 ways they brought back that super spark to their love lives.

1. We sleep naked

My husband and I were so busy, living separate lives which affected our sex life badly. One weekend, we decided we would just spend the weekend alone together.

playWe were more expressive with physical touches (Natural Beauty)

On Saturday night, we decided to cuddle close in the nude when we went to sleep. It worked that night, and it’s our trick till date”

2. We schedule sex

Sex is the glue that holds us together. It's the difference between the connection I have with my partner and the other people in my life I don't have sex with. We keep scheduling sex because if we don't commit to it the spark won't stay lit.

3. More physical touches

"One of the reasons we're still going strong is because we make sure to touch each other every day. It's not always sexual, but it's always affectionate.

playKeeping the romance alive in marriages is achieved by active, conscious effort (Image of Love)

4. We starve ourselves of sex

After a year of dating and being sexual with each other, my guy and I decided to take sex off the table—sometimes it's for 30 days and sometimes it's for 90… [it makes us long for each other more. And makes the sex as satisfying as it was at the very beginning]”

playWe turn off our phones and actually talk (Busy teacher)

5. No phones during private times

"We established a standing Friday night date night when we got engaged, and it was great. But, over time, we started using our phones more frequently on dates. One night, we both looked at each other, said, 'I want to have quality time with you' as though we were reading from the same script. We both smiled and put our phones down.