Why are some couples able to stay together for such a long time?

It seems I’m surrounded by divorce. The stats are apparently pretty ugly, and it seems that every few months another couple I know is splitting.

If you know any couples who have been able to stay together until one of them died, can you share any observations about them? What did they do? What didn’t they do?

My parents divorced when I was 12. My wife also comes from a broken family. It’s a bit unnerving to see couples tumble all around us.

Is this just the reality – are most humans incapable of living with the same person for a long time? Or do we just direct our natural dissatisfaction with life towards the closest person in our life? Is divorce just a way to say, “Life wasn’t what I thought it would be.”? Is it just running away?

NOTE: I’m not talking about abusive situations. I’m talking about people who get divorced after having 3 kids because they realize they don’t really like the person they are married to. Didn’t you think about that before you decided to have kids with this person? Did the person change so much, or did you change so much, that living with this person would be like living with a stranger?