Marriage can cause friendships to suffer

Getting married can alter the dynamic of a person's social networks and result in the loss of friends, according to a sociologist.

Ray Pahl, a sociology professor at the University of Essex and co-author of Rethinking Friendship believes that the lifestyle changes which come about as a result of matrimony mean that people have to down-size their friendship groups.

Pahl suggests that trying to maintaining friendships with lots of people isn't always possible once you are married, and that you may have to choose who you want to be your long term pals, the Associated Press reports.

He said: "You actually have to be a bit ruthless and think clearly.

"It's really not cynical or calculating. You owe it to the ones that really matter to give them your time."

Another area of contention can be your spouse's friends. "This is one of the most serious ways in which people can lose friends," Pahl commented. "Two women might be great friends alone, but because one's husband is a class rear end, the friends can start to feel ill-at-ease with each other."

However, Jan Yager, a sociology professor at the University of Connecticut, believes that an unspoken rule that said spouse is not a part of the friendship can mean that the relationship can continue undamaged.