Would You Marry Solely for Money or Comfort?

Week of February 12, 2003

Feb 12, 2003 at 4:00 am
Shakira Nasiruddin
Program Coordinator, Regional Response Coalition
"I think that some days, when I'm broke, I would consider marrying for those reasons. Money really helps when love gets boring, but I think love is still the bottom line."

Chuck Attarzadeh
Construction Worker
"No, I'd need something more challenging than that. Comfort is too boring for me, and I can't imagine living out the rest of my days without some sort of passion or love. Same thing with marrying just for looks: I have to say no for that, too, because you could end up with a beautiful person who has the IQ of an I-beam."

Vance D. Thompson
Boxing Referee/Swing-Dance Instructor
"If life was a struggle and the opportunity came up, yeah, sure, why not? You definitely want to pick somebody you think you can get along with so at least you can enjoy life together. If you was to marry someone just for the money and that person had a thumb over you all the time, that won't work."

Gilbert Stevenson
Busboy, The Edge
"For money, yeah! I wouldn't have to work no more. If she didn't love me? I could live with that. I'd love to be a kept man. And she wouldn't have to worry about nothin' -- the house would be clean, kids took care of, everything!"

Lorrie Johnson
Staff, Gold's Gym
"If I was 21, yeah, I'd marry for money. But I'm 31 now so, no, I would have to marry for love. My parents have been married for 50-plus years and they do everything together, and, you know, I kind of want that, too. I want to love someone. I want him to love me back. I don't think I could just do it for money. But I've thought about it -- believe me, I have."

Ken Thomas
Loft District Impresario
"'Comfort' is such a relative term. We're all compromising our romantic notions for some sense of security. There's no guarantee that being crazy in love with this person means you're going to wake up beside them the rest of your life. Essentially it is a compromise between comfort and love. At one point we have to accept our limitations. Personally, I'm holding out until I'm head over heels in it."