Last Friday January 15th, 2012, the Costa Concordia Italian cruise ship hit a rock just 450 feet from shore, ran aground, took on water and keeled over.

As of the time we're writing this article, 11 people are dead and 23 others are missing.

In the story we read online, many of the survivors of the wreckage describe Titanic-like details of gritty moments of survival, tentative farewells and heartbreaking loss.

There was one particular story that caught our attention and it was this one about how a lifeboat became a lifeline for marriage...

Australian miner Rob Elcombe and his wife, Tracey Gunn, told Melbourne's Herald Sun Newspaper that they booked a spot on the Concordia as a last ditch effort to save their marriage.

Instead, the couple found themselves trying to save their lives when they boarded the very last lifeboat of survivors to leave the ship.

"This has made our bond much, much stronger," Elcombe told the paper. "Who needs couples counseling, when you survive a Titanic experience?"

To us, this kind of story is both heartwarming and tragic at the same time.

We always think it's a good idea that a couple exhausts every possible solution to their relationship or marriage woes before they call it "quits" and call in the lawyers.

It was a horrible ordeal that this couple had to endure to survive and our hearts go out to both the survivors and those who lost loved ones in this terrible tragedy.

Kudos to this couple for trying one last thing to save their relationship.

The reality is that many couples give up much sooner than this Australian couple did and here's the problem with giving up too soon (and the point to all this...)

Most couples think about relationships all wrong.

Most couples think that a relationship is successful if they can just survive a certain number of years that they have decided means "success" in their relationship.

Most couples do everything they can to keep their relationship and romance alive, vibrant and growing in the early stages, but stop doing the kinds of things that made their love zing after the so-called "honeymoon" period is over.

Then, after they've both stopped making each other feel special - they find themselves wondering "what just happened" and then they start shopping for a divorce attorney or looking for a new love.

This, from a relationship coach's perspective, is what we call a true relationship tragedy--when a couple waits too long before they get the help they need to bring the love, passion, romance and connection back into their relationship.

We believe that (contrary to what many people think)...love. romance, passion and yes... even hot steamy sex never have to die.

We believe you can keep it alive forever... if that's what you want.

We want to show you how you can tilt the odds of lasting love in your favor and how you can keep your love and relationship alive for as long as you want.

If there is anything that you want for your relationship or marriage, please know that you can have it.

In our "Get Closer Secrets" Teleseminar Series and Coaching Program we'll show you how.

We invite you to sign up before it's too late.