How I ended up in a happy relationship: Women's process of successful partnering

Women (under the age of 40 years) in fulfilling heterosexual relationships are interviewed about their commitment process. A grounded theory analysis is conducted to develop a model of these successful commitment processes. Findings describe the qualities women attribute to their partners, external factors in their relationship formation, and processes of developing desire, making commitment decisions, resolving hesitations about commitment, and maintaining relational ease. The core category in this model, Not just a process of choice but of acceptance and appreciation, suggests that partnering decisions include an initial decision-making phase. Ongoing commitment decisions, however, may follow a distinctly different process in which partnering is based on faith and trust. This two-stage model of partnering integrates existing models of romantic love.