By Dr. Kenneth Ryan
It’s a fact. I’m not throwing cold water on the big wedding. It was beautiful, and I wish Kate and William all the best.  I’m just saying you can’t judge a relationship by the beauty of the couple or the smiles at the wedding.  Kate caught the Prince’s attention with her invisible dress, and now it looks like they are living the dream.  But they have a tough road ahead.  Diana and Fergie’s marriages began the same way – just like dozens of U.S. celebrities.  As outsiders, there’s no way to know if the royal relationship is built on a solid foundation or if it’s as flimsy as her see-through wardrobe.  Kate and William are really no different than any other couple getting married, as they have great optimism and excitement about their future together.  They’ve already beat the odds by converting eight years of living together into a marriage, because a University of Denver study found that only one in ten couples who live together are still together five years later.
Celebrities have it tough when it comes to relationships.  They’re no wiser than you or me, but their every move is monitored and discussed.  In fact, they’re probably even more confused about relationships than you, because their world is so artificial.  Every person a celebrity meets is suspect because so many people are awed by them, in love with them (fantasy) or just to want to exploit them.  It’s a tangled web of mixed motives when judging any potential suitor, but celebrities have it the worst.  Therefore, it makes no sense to look upon the beautiful people with envy or to necessarily emulate their courtship strategies.  You might end up emulating a “Bad Romance.”
Top 5 Mistakes Women Make in Searching for Their Prince
Don’t give up — Some women feel helpless and hopeless because few men have shown interest in them, and there are so many pathetic adolescent men.  That said, there are many ways a woman can improve her connections with guys and make herself more appealing.  They just need to learn effective communication techniques.
Don’t chase guys – Women who come on too strong look desperate and easy.  Predatory males look for desperate women, because these women will do almost anything to get them.  The good guys out there find desperate women to be less appealing.  Learn how to engage men without coming on too strong.
Don’t be naive about men — Too many dangerous men are lurking out there.  If a woman does not understand the risks and the huge difference between men and women when it comes to sex and relationships, she will get burned eventually.  If most of her guidance for relationships comes from popular media and peers, she is working from a position of ignorance.  Movie makers couldn’t care less how your life turns out.  They just want your $13 movie ticket.
Don’t panic — Some women become so fearful that they will never find a guy who loves them that they abandon their convictions and make irrational, dangerous decisions.  Some painful effects are immediate, while some might not surface for years.
Don’t sleep with the boyfriend — Every woman must make her own decision when it comes to sex, and it’s a huge decision.  Sex is the most common and most harmful mistake women make in relationships.  It may seem romantic or exhilarating, but there are hidden fangs that can cut deep.  It causes an avalanche of problems, many that the woman doesn’t anticipate.  Does he love you or does he love having sex with you?  That’s the million dollar question that women routinely get wrong — resulting in shredded female hearts.  You can’t put a condom on your heart.
It’s not easy to navigate the shark-infested waters of the dating world, but if you can follow these basic tips, you shouldn’t have to worry about being someone else’s prey.
Dr. Kenneth Ryan is the author of Finding Your Prince in a Sea of Toads: How to Find a Quality Guy Without Getting Your Heart Shredded. Dr. Ryan offers straight talk about relationships garnered from years of not only counseling engaged couples about sex, but from his own marriage and living with three teenage daughters. He understands the yearning of most young women to be loved and cherished by a great guy.
