No Ring

Very relatable article about older financially independent women not wanting to get legally married and put everything they have worked hard for at risk. I think the situation is reciprocal for men as well - the ones that do not need a nurse and/or a purse. They too have nothing to gain and much to lose from getting legally tied in marriage. 

Life is a lot simpler without the papers specially that they have zero value in terms of level of commitment. People are either in love and want to stay together or they are not and in time for the right stimulus will spilt apart. Having papers and resulting complications will only make that process harder but if the person is motivated enough they will still get out of the situation. Those that stay on in unhappy marriages because pulling apart will be a financial nightmare, only end up making each other deeply miserable if not physically ill. Between the two bad options maintaining status quo is the less bad.

The interesting thing is that society on average has not caught up to this phenomenon - people still tend to view marriage as a sign of a stable union. Socially if a couple has been married for a couple of decades, people think of them very differently than if a woman was to describe her long-term partner as fiancé or boyfriend. There is an inherent mistrust of that situation and it is presumed volatile and likely to end without notice. But those are not good enough reasons for people to create a mess of their lives - specially those who have been there and done that, survived a divorce or two.