Why do unmarried people in sh*tty relationships stay together? Unless there's a pie in the face moment of horror, status quo usually wins the day. It's never a great day to deal with breaking up, with marriage amplify that by 100. With marriage you have the challenges (excuses) of legal ramifications, financial consequences, "the kids," religious expectations, social expectations, adhering to "personal ideals" and just the overall prospect of the big dark hallway of FEAR.
Humans are creatures of habit. We are likely to roll around in sh*t tomorrow if we've been doing just that for the last 3,000 days. We make excuses and bury our heads. We convince ourselves that things aren't that bad. We compensate or point to small changes as significant enough to not "rock the boat".
Now, having said all that, I'd like to also point out that "happy" is a relative term. Most marriages are predicated on many things: stability, values, familial ties etc. "Happy" may be a component, but might not be the driving force or defined as such. Some couples are pleased enough, or functional enough, and thus - happy. Not grinning ear to ear "Happy", but lower case "is-what- it- is" happy.
Funny Guy
"People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar." --Thich Nhat Hahn
One of my favorite quotes. I think it sums up the answer to pretty much any question you can ask about "why people continue to do ___."
Because the "unhappy" you know is sometimes better than the thought of the "unknown"....
perfect definition of my current relationship with my boyfriend. Does it get any better from here? or should i just give up and end it? i love him but i'm not entirely happy
That would depend on what's making you unhappy and whether or not you both are willing to do whatever it takes to fix it/work through it. If it's just a normal rut, I wouldn't worry too much.