Making a date to keep magic alive

Politicians in Norway seem to think so, because a government minister has issued a public plea for married couples to give them a try.

They even put a smile on Victoria Beckham's face, with Posh Spice insisting her 14-year marriage with husband David is still going strong thanks largely to their weekly date nights away from the public glare.

Shropshire health instructor Danni Evans agrees. The 37-year-old goes on regular date nights with her husband James – the most recent was a trip to a theatre comedy night – and she reckons they have played a vital role in helping to keep their relationship strong.

Mother-of-three Danni, who runs Base Camp Health and Fitness in Ellesmere, says: "James and I work together and live together and are parents together so it's so important for us to have some time where we finish a whole conversation and enjoy each other's company.

"It might be a meal out, a weekend away or a night at the theatre or cinema and it certainly keeps your relationship strong. Those who don't do it should!"

Danni, whose children are aged 12, eight and five, adds: "Those people who know us, know that we can't keep sit still, so it might even be a run together. But when you do sport for a living and then go and do it to enjoy with just the two of you, it is very different.

"Lots of my friends and their partners have date nights and I think they are most important for couples after having children as you can get so wrapped up in the children and forget about being a husband and wife."

Norway's minister for children, equality and social inclusion, Solveig Horne, hit the headlines when she took to the podium to promote the value of date nights in an attempt to tackle her country's rising divorce rates, particularly in the 40-44 age group. She believes couples need to work harder at their relationships and take inspiration from the hit Hollywood film Date Night, with Steve Carell.

"Each couple needs to decide what sort of a date night they should have, whether it is a night at the movies or a walk together without the kids for a couple of hours," she says. "I saw the movie Date Night where an American couple try to go out to keep their relationship alive. In the film, everything goes wrong but I thought it was a good idea.

"My sister lives in the US and she told me that she and her husband have a weekly date night and it really works."

Date nights are already hugely popular with many couples across the UK who go on dates to the theatre, cinema, for a meal out or even at home.

Relationship experts at Relate believe date nights are a good idea for couples as they enable them spend quality time together and remember the reasons that they got together in the first place, keeping the relationship strong.

Liz Todd from Relate Shropshire has been a relationship counsellor for 25 years. She says that many couples these days lead extremely busy lives, with both partners often working full-time and looking after children. And with more free time spent using social media, she believes couples are spending even less and less time with each other rather than focussing on their relationship.

"I think date nights can help," says Liz. "In principle it is a good idea. It is something that couples need to start doing right from the beginning."

She says one of the main problems facing couples these days is a lack of time for one another.

"Often couples work full-time, then they grab the children from childcare, go home and then there is social media. People end up locked away in separate rooms talking to other people and not to each other."

Liz believes people need to spend more time away from the daily routine and get back to the reasons why they fell in love in the first place.

"Couples need to see each other in a different light again, see the person that they fell in love with," she says.

In Shropshire, Relate is currently seeing people from different age groups turning to them for relationship advice to help steer them through trickier times. Prime Minister David Cameron has been through his fair share of tricky times recently, and has told how he goes on date nights once a week with wife Samantha, as part of his attempts to lead a normal life and be a good husband.

He says: "A date is spending some time with your wife because you love each other and you want to cook dinner for each other or you want to go out for dinner with each other. That to me is a date night and that's a lovely thing to do."

Liz Todd adds: "We have couples who spend ages living together, planning a big wedding and when they have had the big day, they do not know what to do next."

She says another one of the issues that couples complained of is not feeling the same way about each other, or having no idea what the actual rules of the relationship are – leading to animosity.

"People can rescue things. We see people do that all the time."

And her advice to couples is to spend more time together, trying ideas such as date nights.

"I think I would say try to get some time away. I would also say switch off those devices for the evening. "Above all. have a bit of fun, don't be so serious about things. Find a way of having a giggle."