Lavalife Offers Tips for Dating in the Military

    TORONTO, ON, October 29, 2008 /24-7PressRelease/ -- As anyone can imagine, being a part of the Military takes strength, courage, passion and dedication. These same traits are also valuable in the women who choose to date or marry men serving their great countries. Lavalife, (http://www.lavalife.com) a leader in the singles industry for over 20 years recently spoke with a number of Military wives and girlfriends to hear how they make their military relationships work, and in turn we came up with 5 tips for women ready to date men in uniform.

Committing to someone who places themselves in the line of fire to serve their country is tough. Because of all the extra hard work involved, the quality of the relationships is different, and some may even say stronger, thanks to the restraints and pressures placed upon them. Of course this isn't to say that there aren't benefits to dating someone in the military, or that the difficulties aren't bearable when you meet the soldier for you.

If you're ready to make the commitment to being a military girlfriend/wife, here are 5 tips from Lavalife to make sure your relationship stays out of the line of fire.

5 Tips for Dating in the Military
1) Keep lines of communication open
When your partner is deployed, you have to communicate however you can. Emailing is the easiest and most accessible option, but try to chat by phone as much as possible too. Hearing your loved one's voice on the other end of the line always makes you feel closer. Getting a piece of home is always welcome too, so sending care packages and snail mail letters are always a great way of showing you care.

2) Trust each other
As in any relationship, trust is an ultimate key. Whether your significant other is five or 5,000 miles away, trusting one another fully will insure long lasting strength in any relationship.

3) Value the time you can spend together
For those who do fall in love with military personnel, it's not all about hardship. In times of peace many soldiers often are able to finish work early and the military tries to plan their operations around the school year so that personnel can spend as much time with their families as possible. Use this time to plan a romantic weekend away or take a fun vacation with the family.

4) Be independent and learn to take care of yourself
It's important to redefine your idea of "partnership" and be able to stand on your own for long periods of time while your other half is on duty. Your boyfriend/husband will feel better knowing that you will be okay while he is away serving the country.

5) Build a solid support network of friends and family while your loved one is away
"I am very close with the wives and girlfriends of the deployed soldiers from my boyfriend's unit. While the men are gone, we all stay very close. We help each other. We support each other. And we take care of each other when one of us needs it," says Mikki Glass, a New Yorker who is dating a First Sergeant in the US Army.

Dating someone in the military isn't going to be everyone's idea of a good time, but with the right attitude plenty of happy couples make it work just fine.

For more dating stories and tips from military girlfriends and wives, visit Lavalife's online magazine, Click, at http://click.lavalife.com/.

Editor's Note: Interviews and hi-res images available.

About Lavalife
Lavalife is ranked the #1 website for online dating in Canada* and is ranked among the top 10 worldwide dating sites.** A leading provider of products and services designed for singles, Lavalife connects, engages and entertains through a variety of web, voice and mobile offerings. Founded in 1987, Lavalife Corp. markets its products and services across the United States, Canada and Australia. Lavalife's open-minded approach to online dating allows singles to choose how they want to "click" by offering three unique and distinctive services in personals: dating, relationships and intimate encounters. Lavalife has attracted millions of unique members who exchange 1.3 million messages every day. For more information, visit http://www.lavalife.com.

*Source: Combination of comScore Media Metrix and Lavalife. Lavalife estimates that it ranks #1 in Canada when publicly quoted statistics are adjusted to reflect traffic assigned to other web sites.

** Source: Combination of comScore Media Metrix and Lavalife. Lavalife estimates that it ranks in the top 10 worldwide when publicly quoted statistics are adjusted to reflect traffic assigned to other web sites.

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