(How Else Would You Find Them on Facebook?)

I now pronounce you…single and loving it? History will tell you that marriage and parenthood go together like, well, women and men. Love may or may not have anything to do with a situation destined for success or misery, but whatever the outcome; it seems that the young adults of the Millenial Generation don’t care either way– as long as their babies are happy.

According to a new study from Pew Research, Millenials, 18- to 29-year-olds, value parenthood much more than marriage. In fact, “52% of Millennials say being a good parent is ‘one of the most important things’ in life. Just 30% say the same about having a successful marriage — meaning there is a 22-percentage-point gap in the way Millennials value parenthood over marriage.

When this same question was posed to 18- to 29-year-olds in 1997, the gap was just seven percentage points. Back then, 42% of the members of what is known as Generation X said being a good parent was one of the most important things in life, while 35% said the same about having a successful marriage (PewResearch.org).”

Are we afraid of tying the knot too soon? Survey says that young adults today are slower to wed than older generations (that’s probably why only 22% of Millennials are currently married). Why the big change?

“Back when Gen Xers were the same age that Millennials are now, some three-in-ten of them were married, as were more than four-in-ten Baby Boomers and more than half of the members of the Silent Generation (adults now ages 65 and older).

The delay in marriage among today’s young adults has been accompanied by a corresponding increase in the rate of out-of-wedlock births. Just over half (51%) of all births among Millennials in 2008 were to unwed mothers, compared with just under four-in-ten (39%) among Gen Xers in 1997, when they were the same age that Millennials are now (PR).”

In other words, you typically won’t need a fifty pound dress or pretty diamond ring to get pregnant.

How has marriage, divorce, or previous engagements affected your relationship with your family? Do soul mates really exist or is a wedding just another excuse for a wild bachelorette party and an awesome caterer?