There are often signs that there is trouble brewing in your marriage long before you end up in divorce court.  While not every relationship that has problems will end in divorce, there are many that do.  In order to understand your relationship you need to really compare your relationship now, with your relationship from years ago.  It will have changed over the years, but you should still be able to see hints of the previous relationship that you loved before.

One of the first signs that your relationship may be heading towards trouble is that you and your spouse are always fighting.  Whether it is constant fights over major issues or even just minor bickering you should have better things to do than fight.  If you are doing nothing more than fighting then you might be headed towards trouble.

Your next warning sign is if you are no longer having fun together.  If your time together is never good anymore, then you need to either re-evaluate your relationship or try to find a fun activity that you can participate in together.  While not everyone enjoys the same activities, you should not feel as if time together is painful either. 

Do you never have anything nice to say about your spouse anymore?  If there is nothing nice, you can say anymore this should be a major red flag for the problems that have developed.  You should be able to talk about your spouse without hostility and an attitude.  If this is not possible, you really need to consider talking to a therapist to see if you can change the course of your relationship. 

If you no longer trust your spouse, and wonder constantly, what they are doing behind your back then it is probably a good idea to split up.  If the idea of splitting up does not make you happy then you can consider a few trips to a therapist.  This is one of the biggest problems that can happen in a relationship and cause a huge relationship problem.

When you are considering your sex life, you wonder what sex life.  If the physical intimacy is gone from your relationship then there is a definite problem, especially when coupled with other problems.  If there is a problem then you need to discuss openly and honestly with your spouse to try to resolve issues. 

Next sign of a troubled relationship is that you never talk to each other about problems.  This is a major problem for many relationships that can cause huge conflicts.  If you are unable to discuss your issues like a rational adult and work towards a solution then you are in definite trouble.  Even if you do not discuss small problems, but do still discuss larger problems then you are definitely still headed towards problems.

Another major warning sign is that you are happier when you and your spouse are separated.  For example, if you are happier while your spouse is on a trip for a week for business or even a weekend then you are possibly heading towards signs of trouble.  You should enjoy the time spent with your spouse more than you enjoy the time separated.  If the opposite is true in your relationship then you are heading towards serious trouble. 

Another serious sign of trouble is if either you, your spouse or even both of you has cheated.  This is one of the biggest signs of trouble.  Cheating is never an accident, but rather a symptom that there is trouble in a marriage.  If you have been cheated on, you can usually never fully heal from the pain, and if you are the spouse that cheated, your spouse is usually never able to fully forgive you.  This can drive a huge wedge into the relationship quite quickly.

Finally, if you and your spouse have completely different goals and dreams for life you are potentially headed for trouble.  This could mean a lot of things, such as during your retirement you want to live in Montana, while your spouse would rather spend retirement in Florida.  Or even, you want to pursue your career for another 10 years before having children, while your spouse is pushing towards children in the immediate future.  This is just a few examples of how radically different goals can cause huge problems in a relationship.

While no couple has a perfect answer for when their relationship is over, the warning signs generally give a great advance notice.  If you do not want your relationship to be over, then take the warning signs seriously and start making some changes.  Work with your partner to repair the damage that has already been done.