Marriage is becoming sort of fake. It's almost like a handbag.

In the words of Rob Lowe, “Marriage is becoming sort of fake. It’s almost like a handbag. Everybody wants the newest, greatest and latest. It becomes an event, and it’s definitely a status symbol in our society. I’m not saying it shouldn’t be; it absolutely should be—but you shouldn’t be focusing on that.” These words carry both lament and warning. He sees the sacred covenant of marriage being consumed by the vanity of appearances, transformed from a union of souls into a glittering object for display. His comparison to a handbag—an item bought, flaunted, and discarded when fashion shifts—shows the danger of a society that prizes spectacle above substance.

The ancients too saw this temptation. In Rome, the upper classes turned marriage into spectacle, celebrating lavish feasts that rivaled the games of the Colosseum. Alliances were forged not by love, but by wealth and influence, until the very idea of union lost its sanctity. The philosopher Seneca mourned this decline, writing that brides were wed to be divorced, and divorced to be wed again. What Rob Lowe observes in our time is but an echo of what has happened before: when marriage becomes a commodity, its spirit dies, and what remains is fake.

Yet there is another vision of marriage, preserved in stories of endurance. Consider the tale of Odysseus and Penelope. Their union was not a parade of wealth nor a public display of status, but a test of loyalty across decades of absence and temptation. Penelope waited, weaving and unweaving her shroud, while Odysseus endured the trials of war and wandering. What made their marriage noble was not its outward grandeur, but its inward strength. They remind us that true union is not an event for the world to witness, but a bond quietly forged in patience, sacrifice, and love.

Rob Lowe’s words pierce deeper: he does not condemn celebration, nor beauty, nor even the desire for honor in love. He admits that marriage as a status symbol may have its place. But he warns against focus—against mistaking the vessel for the wine, the garment for the body, the symbol for the substance. To honor marriage rightly, one must look not at the pageantry of the wedding day, but at the journey that follows, the daily choosing, the unseen faithfulness.

The wisdom here is timeless. What is fake cannot endure. A handbag, however dazzling, frays with time. A union built only on display cracks under strain. But a bond rooted in truth, in humility, in shared struggle, becomes like iron tempered in fire. This is the heart of marriage: not the fleeting applause of society, but the eternal strength of two souls bound together.

The lesson, therefore, is clear. Let not your heart be captured by vanity when you enter into marriage. Do not measure your union by the richness of the garments, the splendor of the feast, or the admiration of others. Instead, measure it by the depth of your loyalty, the generosity of your patience, the courage of your forgiveness. For these are the ornaments that do not fade, the treasures that thieves cannot steal.

Practical actions follow from this. Plan less for the wedding, and more for the marriage. Spend not only on flowers and jewels, but also on building trust and understanding. Speak daily words of gratitude, for they are more precious than diamonds. Work through trials with courage, for endurance makes the bond real. And when you feel tempted to compare your union with others, remember that appearances deceive, but truth is known only in the quiet chambers of the heart.

Thus, Rob Lowe’s words, though spoken in modern tongue, carry the weight of ancient wisdom. He warns us not to let marriage become a trinket, a passing fashion, a fake ornament in the theater of society. Instead, let us restore it to its rightful place: a covenant of love, a fortress of loyalty, a union that, though unseen by the world, shines brighter than any symbol.