Stuart and Eidra are characters on The Diplomat, and they’ve had an on-again, off-again relationship. In the current season they are on-again but it’s been a bit of a rough go. In Season 4, Episode 6, there is a scene where they are arguing about Eidra’s earlier flippant comment about marriage.
Stuart: You wanna know what I think about marriage?
Eidra: I would love to know.
Stuart: I think love is not enough.
I think you gotta be brutal.
You gotta talk about money and kids and retirement, and if you believe in God, and how much sex you wanna have, and what cheating means, and how you wanna die.
You have to want it, because it’s hard.
And it goes on for a long time.
Lots of folks want to think love (and attraction) should be enough. And perhaps for a few folks it actually is, but I think Stuart is correct for the vast majority of people. Before two people commit to a long-term relationship they need to have these conversations, including the financial conversations. That may feel uncomfortable to some people. But I would gently suggest that if you aren’t comfortable having these conversations before you commit, if you don’t trust each other enough to share this information and have the hard conversations, then the likelihood of your relationship lasting is pretty low. (And don’t even get me started on having children together if you aren’t comfortable talking about values, and goals, and money.)
Yes, Stuart is a fictional character on a fictional show. But I’d urge you to consider what he has to say.