This week I spoke with Huffington Post associate editor Brittany Wong about the top signs a marriage is doomed from the start. Many times, people ignore the red flags, only to have these issues break the marriage later on.

He’s a Republican, she’s left of Al Franken. Her weekends and evenings are filled with CrossFit and adult kickball, his life is centered around League of Legend tournaments. Everyone likes to idealize the opposites-attract relationship, but when push comes to shove, those differences oftentimes get the best of a couple, especially when there are also communication problems, said divorce attorney Morghan Richardson.

“In real life, the dynamic that made the dating relationship exciting can eventually erode the marriage if the couple doesn’t learn how to grow their communication skills,” she said. “As you may have learned firsthand, some clashes — especially those related to religious beliefs — are nearly impossible to find middle ground on.”

Read the whole story:

9 Signs Your Marriage Was Doomed From The Start

Another sign the marriage may be doomed: even the best laid career plans can be interrupted by the ups-and-downs of the job market. If you never had a discussion about your career ambitions — or how you’d react if things didn’t go as planned — you were already at a severe disadvantage, said Richardson.

“We’ve had several cases where a husband or wife seemed ambitious: studying for an advanced degree or making efforts to get U.S. credentials for foreign studies,” the divorce attorney explained. “When those efforts failed, they gave up, which left the other spouse feeling betrayed. Planning for the best and the worst needs to happen.”

What were some signs the marriage was doomed from the start? Discuss in the comments.