At the beginning of a relationship, intense feelings draw a couple together, so they think it will always stay intensely romantic. A new romance is easy and requires almost no work to keep the passion alive, so unconsciously, you think it will always stay that way. However, there comes a time when a relationship takes intentional effort to keep from drifting away from your partner. 

If you want to stay close, you'll need to keep an eye out for some of the twelve most common signs that your relationship is in trouble — and start the work of growing close once again. 

Here are 12 things that happen right before a couple drifts apart irrevocably 

1. You're experiencing a loss of affection

If you're worried you may be drifting apart from your spouse, there are a few ways you can turn things around in your relationship and learn how to save your marriage.

The early stages of a romantic relationship are fun, exciting, exhilarating, mind occupying, feeling generating, smile making, can’t wait to see them, and can’t get them off of my mind experiences.

The attraction to be together is strong and drives your thoughts, actions, and plans. It is a wonderful feeling, and you long to be with them and are unable to imagine it will ever, ever be different.

Fast forward seven, 10, or 15 years into the marriage, and for some, it feels very much different. The feeling you thought would never leave has not been around for a long time.

You still like each other — at least some of the time — and you do things together as a family, almost always with the kids. The passion that was there is gone. You might occasionally feel it a little, but mostly, it seems far away and like it will never return.

Do you notice less touching, kissing, and hugging? A study in the Journal of Family Issues helps explain while it was very natural and normal to be physically close much of the time early on, you now notice neither one of you initiates or responds to signs of affection like in the past.

There is little to no hand-holding, and if you happen to be at a movie event or on the couch sitting relatively close, it's rare to move close enough to make physical contact or put an arm around your spouse to move closer.

2. You don't want to spend as much time together

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There still is a lingering thought that it would be nice to go on a date together, but little to no effort is put into making it happen. The topic is rarely talked about, and when it does come up, it feels like too much effort to address it with all the other responsibilities being faced.

3. You run out of things to talk about

When you do think about spending some time alone as a couple, you have the feeling that it may be awkward. In the early years, you both had plenty to talk about when together.

There were times when the talk could go on for hours. Now, not so much. Your talk is mostly about the kids or maybe things going on at work. Conversations die down quickly and sometimes are hard to start up again.

4. It feels like you're living with a stranger

There is so little time spent together as a couple that neither of you is comfortable with it when it does happen. It feels like there's so little you know about this person. They seem to have changed, and you are not sure you know them any longer, as suggested by a study in the Journal of Family Issues.

You often feel like you learn more about them when they are talking to someone else, and you can listen in.

5. Neither one of you is invested in the marriage

There was a time when you both did little things to take care of the other. You knew what would have meaning, and you did it to show your love. It was easy to do, and you were excited at times about the things you did to take care of your spouse.

Those days are long gone. It is hard to even remember the last time one of you made the extra effort to take care of the other.

6. Other things all seem more important than your spouse

During those times when you do make an effort to discuss concerns about the relationship, it doesn’t seem to register. A study on partner devaluation in marriage by Maestas, K. L., Ph.D. supports that when you make a request or a plan for time together, it seems to always get crowded out by something or someone else.

7. You've given up on trying to get close again

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The efforts you have made in the past year or two have yielded no change. It feels hopeless to even try any longer. You tell yourself, "It won’t hurt as much if I can just accept this is the way life is now."

8. You don't feel attracted to or attractive to your spouse

Your heart has not beaten faster, nor have your eyes lightened up when your spouse walks into the room or you see your spouse after an absence. You are not repulsed by the sight of your spouse, but you know that neither of you is attracted to the other like it was in the past.

9. Your intimate life is unsatisfying or completely gone

There may be little or no time for physical intimacy, and one of you rarely makes the initiative for it to happen. It often feels like a chore or a duty. A study by Peven, D. E., & Shulman, B. H. explains how you sometimes hear complaints there is so little intimacy happening, but no efforts are made to speak to your needs so that you regain interest.

10. You're holding onto a lot of resentment

The resentment for both of you has been growing because of the disappointment in the relationship. When you do hear a suggestion about what could be done to improve things, you get angry. It may feel like the responsibility is being put on you.

11. It feels like it's too late to save your marriage

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This has gone on for so long that you are worn out with it. You remember all those times when you tried to reach out, tried to make plans to be together, and attempted to discuss it.

All of those efforts felt ignored or not taken seriously enough to continue the discussion and work on it. Now, you feel like you have no energy to address change in your marriage. You have given up on it ever being different or better.

12. You've noticed commentary from friends or family

Others have noticed things are not the same. You have heard from more than one person that the two of you don’t seem close any longer. Your children may have even made some comments about it.

You may notice additional signs showing how you have drifted far apart. If you're concerned about your marriage and the amount of distance that's grown between you, there are some choices you can make.

You can choose to do nothing and hope for the best, or you can choose to let the marriage die a natural death and move on.

You can choose to address the issues and determine if you can reverse the drift and learn to regain a sense of closeness. If you feel desperate and know that it's almost too late, the two of you could make another decision.

You can choose to find the best help available and, for a predetermined period of time, follow the direction of a skilled professional to find out if there is hope for rebuilding your marriage.

Drs. David and Debbie McFadden are a husband-and-wife team specializing in helping struggling and distressed couples in the US and Canada.