A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983) was an American journalist and aphorist best known for her compact, witty observations on modern life, many of which were collected in her long-running series The Neurotic’s Notebook. This remark on marriage reflects her mid‑20th‑century style: pragmatic rather than sentimental, attentive to the daily maintenance of relationships, and skeptical of the idea that love is a single, permanent state. The line circulated widely in quotation anthologies and newspaper columns as a distilled “marriage wisdom” aphorism, consistent with McLaughlin’s reputation for turning domestic and emotional experience into memorable, epigrammatic counsel.

The quote reframes marital success as a repeated choice rather than a one-time romantic event. “Falling in love many times” suggests that long partnerships pass through seasons—routine, conflict, change, renewal—and that affection must be rediscovered as both people evolve. The insistence on “always with the same person” emphasizes commitment: the novelty and intensity associated with new love are not sought elsewhere but recreated through attention, forgiveness, curiosity, and shared growth. McLaughlin’s aphorism thus balances realism (love fluctuates) with an ethic of fidelity (renewal happens inside the bond), making endurance an active practice rather than passive luck.