Are there rules for a happy and successful marriage?

One couple seems to think so, and their Twitter thread and blog post about it has gone viral.

 Ryan and Alaina Stephens say that the first rule is that “No one should ever hear anything bad about your spouse from you.”

“It's one thing to joke with friends about something trivial and quite another to demean your spouse's character. Know the difference,” they said.

Professional counselor Anthony Picola agrees.

“It’s respect. It’s about understanding and respecting differences,” he says.

The second rule is to “over communicate. You cannot read each other’s minds. Never assume the other person knows what you meant.”

Rule No. 3 is to try new things together. “Trying new things gets an individual out of their comfort zone and is often easier as a couple, allowing you both to grow stronger together.”

“Being narrow-minded…passing judgment ahead of time. ‘Oh, I’m not going to like that.’ Give it a shot,” says Picola.

The fourth rule is, “Be each other’s champion. Celebrate wins and encourage each other.”

The fifth is, “Be grateful for each other’s contributions…And don’t keep score. If you truly value each other’s input, then the scorecard shouldn’t (and doesn’t) matter.”

The final rule is to trust and respect each other, especially in front of others.

"It's so basic, be nice. Be nice, appreciate the other person,” says Picola.

Picola says that he has been married 39 years himself. He says that the first duty of love is to listen.

“You just don’t get things accomplished by yelling and screaming and pouting,” he says.

The Stephens’ advice has been shared thousands of times over Twitter.