From “Burning Love” to Lasting Connection: How to Overcome Boredom in Marriage

We are a couple who have been married for two years. During the first year we experienced passionate love, but over time it faded, to the point that we now feel boredom in our married life. How can we change the current situation?

A young couple that has just celebrated their wedding and the days of celebration that follow is, in essence, experiencing days of excitement mixed with emotional tension. The peak of joy and happiness is often felt when the entire family takes part in the events and shared excitement.

Then come the days of routine, which can lead to a sense of decline, frustration, and disappointment. The transition from single life to married life is very significant, and often the frustration is directed at one’s spouse, as if they are to blame that the new reality is boring, exhausting, or disappointing. Troubling thoughts begin to arise: Where did the feeling of “wow” go? Is this the person with whom I will have to live in boredom for the rest of my life?

It’s important to understand that every new experience naturally brings with it wonder, freshness, excitement, and joy. This is true when buying a toy for a toddler, when purchasing new clothes, more so when moving into a new home, and certainly when getting to know a future spouse. Excitement soars, accompanied by curiosity about every movement and every word spoken by the other person.

Over time, this figure becomes more familiar, more predictable, and less surprising. As a result, the initial excitement gradually fades from what it was during the first year. This is because the excitement and tension of that first year were largely generated by external and superficial factors. After all, how long can one be fascinated by a turned-up nose or witty remarks if there is no deeper, meaningful content behind them? Eventually, those external and superficial elements give way to their more mature and developed counterparts.

This is a natural developmental process: a transition from “burning” love to “mature” love — a love that is calmer and more balanced.

When a baby who has just begun to walk manages to take a few steps without falling, the entire family applauds, and the news is eagerly shared with anyone willing to listen. When the baby manages to combine a few sounds into a full word, the joy is immense. Even if the child mispronounces or stutters along the way, everyone delights in the achievement and marvels at the child’s cleverness.

Imagine that twenty years later we meet that same baby, now a young adult, and we see a crowd of family members applauding a few steps he has managed to take, or marveling at a complete sentence he has spoken. We would immediately assume that something is wrong.

Similarly, when a marriage enters daily routine, admiration begins to focus primarily on substance rather than on superficial or external traits, which can remain only as a pleasant addition. This means cultivating appreciation that stems from the essence of a blessed relationship — one that is free of boredom because both partners take responsibility for what happens between them, create healthy and constructive communication, and introduce varied and creative surprises that come from a deep, loving, and connected place.

Rabbi Daniel Pinchasov is an expert marriage counselor and psychotherapist.