I like to write more about how marriages can succeed rather than how they can fail, but I guess we have to mention the latter at times to maintain a balance.  Author Gary Chapman states that marriages fail because of three main reasons: lack of an intimate relationship with God; lack of an intimate relationship with your mate and a lack of an intimate understanding and acceptance of yourself.  It seems easy to understand number one and number two but, acceptance of yourself?

When we become secure in whose we are and know our significance in our heavenly Father, we can begin to find self-acceptance.  When we know His love and approval of us, we no longer need to demand it from our spouse.  When we have His direction and His mission for our lives, then it is so much easier to discover the same for our marriage.  When we know who we are, we can stop demanding that our needs to be met and in maturity work on meeting the needs of our spouse.  Anxiety can leave our marriage and rest can take up residence.  Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you. (Romans 15:7)