Steem4Nigeria Accelerator Contest Week4 - Transparency in Marriage | June 4, 2023

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When most intimate relationships fail, couples usually have several excuses to make for this. The blame ranges from something as little as a partner's poor sleeping habits (some snores can give you nightmares, seriously) to something as grave as a partner's poor financial management skills and in other cases, insincerity.

But why insincerity?

The answer is simple:

Every partner needs someone who they can have open and honest communication with. Now, this is what being transparent in any relationship or partnership entails.

Aside from love and commitment, another major factor that contributes to stability in intimate relationships or marriage is trust. To build trust, couples need to encourage open and non-judgmental communication. This involves sharing relevant thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Could be about their finance, health-related issues, history, and even future goals and aspirations. Building trust is one effective way to encourage transparency.

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But not everyone does this. Probably for fear of being judged or rejected.

Such was the case of a man who in this article will be known and addressed as Mr. T.

For 4 years he dated a lady, let's say Lady Cee. And throughout this period, he never for once disclosed to the lady in question that he had two hereditary diseases. Of course, they checked their rhesus factor, blood group, and availability of STIs and STDs as every responsible couple should, yet he still never revealed this to Lady Cee whom he promised to get married to that he had these underlying genetic diseases.

As days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, his story began to unfold.

Nothing is hidden under the sun, right?

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So it happened that their wedding day got fixed and during the series of discussions they had with the church marriage committee, it was revealed that his family had a history of glaucoma and cataracts. It led to his uncle's blindness, it left his father and aunts incapacitated. Chances were that he was more likely to contract it. His kids as well.

This left his lady broken. But what would you advise anyone to do at that moment considering the pros and cons of their actions?

Should she be empathetic, and supportive and move ahead with the wedding even though it meant putting her unborn children at risk?

I have never been in a relationship —intimate, platonic, or business — that lacked transparency myself so it may be difficult to understand exactly what she felt at that moment. But I'm sure that it left her devastated. Meanwhile, what's your take on Transparency in Marriage and Relationships? @jyoti-thelight @chiabertrand @ebeke @patjewell

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