For us, part of the fun of watching the Academy Awards is seeing who shows up with who and which stars remember to thank their spouses.

Check out this list of married Academy Award nominees. As the winners are announced on February 26th, we will update the list with the winners for the main categories.

The movie The Vow may influence people to talk about a spouse's difficult and painful decisions when chronic illness such as Alzheimer's or memory loss impacts a marriage.

"When the person you married goes through a dramatic change, what's a spouse to do? ... clergy, ethicists and brain injury experts agree: There are no easy answers."
Source: Adelle M. Banks. "Till death (or illness or dementia) us do part?" USAToday.com. 2/09/2012.

There are no easy answers because the journey will be unique for each couple who has to face it.

Related Reading:

Sandra Day O'Connor's Ability to Let Go

Does Alzheimer's Justify Divorce?

The Well Spouse Association

According to Maria Lianos-Carbone, "The trick to a successful Valentine's Day is not about the gifts, chocolates and flowers; it's about having fun."

We agree. Read her article "8 Simple Things to Do on Valentine's Day" for romantic ideas.

More on Romance: When It Comes to Romance, What Men and Women Like | Simple Ways to Be Romantic | Before You Buy Gifts for Your Spouse

News reports about long time married couples like Marshall and Winnie Kuykendall are popular, but many think these marriages are the exception.

A research study done by Stony Brook University and Harvey Mudd College say such relationships are not uncommon.

"... 40 percent of individuals married more than 10 years report feeling the same level of love for their partner as those newly in love."
Source: "Love in Marriage: Long-Term Love May Not Be Uncommon, Study Says." HuffingtonPost.com. 2/02/2012.

The article points out that affectionate behavior such as cuddling and sex "correlated with long-term intense love in marriage."