Ordinary friendships and activities outside the marriage can also cause tension if they take no account of marital commitments, as another young woman found out:

A daughter, Nicola, was born soon afterwards but Friday did not take his marital commitments seriously, continuing to womanise, drink heavily and take narcotics.

Many of us enter into a marital commitment with our partners because of a deeply felt appreciation of our spiritual experience and religious traditions .

When it comes to marital commitment and family obligation, many of us new fathers could do worse than to remember our old fathers.

Huckabee said the law, "offers couples a chance to be held to a higher level of marital commitment."

Throughout the world," he said, "we have seen a fundamental shift in attitude toward the importance of marital commitment.

The mentally-traumatised Senzaki however, is not prepared for marital commitments, and his reluctance drives a wedge between the two.

As if to underscore their marital commitment - or to jump-start the character reparation necessary for Bryant's lucrative life as a product endorser - his wife released a statement almost simultaneously.

Regardless, as of 2006 there hasn't been any marital commitments for the singer.

As a 43-year old primate hungry for a mate, he becomes infatuated with a government spook whose marital and occupational commitments allow the couple only the briefest encounters.