Having been married twice and involuntarily divorced once, I still say that marriage is fantastic... I would still choose getting married over not, even if this marriage were to end.

Marriage is great - divorce is terrible. But then again, so are breakups.

Before both marriages, I lived with them for 4-5 years prior to getting married. I absolutely believe that it is essential to live together before getting married (although not necessarily before getting engaged, but that's another discussion).

Are we more committed now than before we were married? Yeah, we are. Before we got married, we always told each other that our relationship was "for life" and planned to grow old together, and that our commitment was absolute. But even after 5 years together, something magical happened to our relationship after we got married. The commitment felt a lot more powerful, which was interesting because we already had felt ultimately committed prior to our wedding.

So, I can't speak for all marriages, but mine is much, much more than just a piece of paper.