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Each type of relationship has potential ups and downs.
It's hard not to compare Meghan Markle - Prince Harry's new fianceé - to Prince William's wife Kate Middleton.
At least on the surface, the two royal courtships couldn't appear more different. Most notably, Markle and Prince Harry met in 2016, when they were both in their 30s. Just about a year later, they announced their engagement.
Middleton and Prince William, on the other hand, met in college. They didn't get engaged until 2010, five years after they graduated.
What's more, while Middleton is British, Prince Harry broke with tradition in some ways by choosing to spend his life with an American.
We asked two relationship experts to explain what these differences might mean for the two marriages, and for the two women's lives. Andrea Syrtash is the author of "He's Just Not Your Type (And That's a Good Thing): How to Find Love Where You Least Expect It" and the founder of Pregnantish.com. Rachel Sussman is a relationship therapist in New York City.
There's no saying what will transpire over the course of either relationship. But as Sussman said, "When you're aware of potential pitfalls, you can really work on the relationship and try to make sure that those don't happen."