The concept of marriage is romanticized in the United States, and even though there are countless media reports on black women's low rates of marriage, most still hold on to the hope of falling in love and "finding the one." But what happens when someone doesn't marry for love but rather for practicality? Academy Award winner and 'The View' co-host Whoopi Goldberg recently revealed to CNN's Piers Morgan that she was not in love with any of her three ex-husbands, and the one man she loved got away.

Nice guys don't always finish last, but pushovers do. There's a big difference in what defines a nice man from one who lets a woman walk all over them. However, thanks to the amazing women who would rather date jerks and be caught up in relationship "excitement," aka drama, men are becoming desensitized to the notion that being a nice guy is even worth it.

Public service announcement: Nice guys are still "winning," and being a considerate kind man is still very much appreciated. However, the line between being a pushover and a nice guy is so thin that it's hard to even notice when it's crossed. So let us help you. For starters, a good rule of thumb to determine your status is by asking yourself: as much as I like/love this woman, am I putting her life before mine?

If the answer is yes - you're a pushover and you need to fall back quickly. Women will never be attracted to a spineless, passive man who lets a woman walk over all them, wavers on their decisions and opinions, and never takes charge. Pushovers are easy to spot, because usually outside the relationship they operate without a backbone and find it difficult to say "no." Despite a pushover's best intentions to be "nice," in order to get women to respect them they must learn to hone and keep the nice gestures and discard all the boring and predictable gestures that allow a woman to get her way - every time.

Women claim they want a nice guy who's in touch with his emotions, is sensitive to issues and worldly causes and is wonderful in every way. He loves puppies and isn't afraid of shedding a few tears. You can take him home to your parents, showing him off like a shiny silver dollar.

Honestly, though, who the heck wants a sensitive guy? Nobody, that's who. At least that's what I first thought. I'll admit, when I first sat down to write about sensitive men and how much they stink, I immediately thought of a funny, tongue-in-cheek piece about, well, how sensitive men stink. However, a friend asked me a question about the topic, and it got me thinking beyond the surface. How was I defining the word "sensitive"?

I thought, sensitive is sensitive! How could it mean anything other than what sensitive means? And then I thought about it; how men and women differ in their relationships, both how they get into them and out of them, and especially how they conduct themselves while in them. Sensitive doesn't just mean he cried profusely when you watched 'Titanic' on TBS last weekend. It's so much more complex.

I'm 49, never married, no real relationship in over 11 years and I'm tired of the single life. It's depressing having to add that up.

I take absolutely horrible pictures; I hate glamour shots, and my lack of sleep shows on my face. I have a nice figure, but no money to go out, pay for dating sites or do a makeover.

So are the broke and those striving to be successful according to God's word just supposed to forget about marriage? What website would you advise or what would you advise in general? I've done the grocery store, Home Depot (when I owned a house), etc., but continually run into married men.

Mischon

Having spent four years in Nigeria as a teenager, I'm no stranger to the scams, con artists and hustlers who make up a disproportionate amount of the criminal element. I remember my parents' friends belying tails of thievery and murder, warning you to never stop when driving across certain bridges at night even if there was a body lying in the middle of the road. A typical ruse: once stopped, a band of armed men would leap into action, kill the passengers and steal the car.

My mother would regale me in tears with gory bedtime stories of a woman whose husband passed away, leaving her and her daughter his fortune... that is, until the ex-wife and her children showed up to ransack the house, steal his possessions and kill his wife and daughter. A typical Nigerian phrase that was bandied about the time: "A thief would sell his own mother for money."

Summed up: The perception many people had of Nigeria's greedy underbelly left a lasting impression upon my young psyche.

I've been in love with this guy for over 3 years but I know in my heart that it's going nowhere. I feel I'm being used and it hurts so bad! I'm also emotionally abused when I don't provide what he needs.

I've tried and tried, but I can't leave him. I'm also bitter about giving so much and getting nothing in return, so why am I still in love with him and why can't I let go? I am so scared of walking away. It physically hurts!

-Monique

We recently discussed the 12 Craziest Types of Women and how to spot them. However, don't think that men are off the hook! Men are always so quick to label a woman cuckoo due to a woman's emotional nature, but men have tons of problems as well.

Men have issues that are equal -- if not worse than -- women because they are socialized to internalize their issues rather than deal with them. That means that entering a relationship with a man that is broken, hurt, weird or angry can be way more of a risk than dating a woman going through the same things. Women are taught to love and, if hurt, taught to love again. For men? Not so much.

Failure and success in love and relationships are to be expected, and are the reasons we all have "issues" in the first place. However, it's the way we deal with the issues that define our sanity.

The scary thing is that spotting a man with issues is a bit more difficult than vice versa because men know how to "play it cool." They try to not let their emotions get the best of them and are able to check themselves when they realize they're going off the deep end. However, their cool-as-a-cucumber demeanor weakens the more they begin to care. Once you spot a man with issues, men are great at "explaining" why they are like this... and women fall for it.

Don't let them fool you before you find yourself head over heels with a psycho! Here are 8 men you should watch out for.

She's your sister friend. He's your roll dog. Your kindred spirit. You've shared tabloid-worthy secrets, celebrated successes and you offer motivation when life gets tough. You love your best friend and would inevitably do anything to protect him or her. But what do you do when you can't stand the person they're dating?

She's trifling, he treats her badly or maybe you just get a bad vibe. Whatever the reason, you just don't like the new significant other and think your friend must be suffering from temporary insanity to put up with this person's mess. Instead of making your friend choose between the two or creating an even more awkward situation, here are four ways to make peace and keep your friendship intact.

Who was the idiot who said, "If you really love someone, you never let them go, no matter how hard it is?" What?!? What's sad is this statement is not only untrue but, to many people, operate as if it's law. Granted, everyone makes a mistake or two in relationships, but successful relationships are structured for learning from the mistakes, not continually making them.

When you really love someone and it gets to be more than you can bear, sometimes you have to let it go, so you don't begin to lose love for self. Nothing is worse than loving someone to the point where you begin to deal and accept things you never thought you would, or the things you don't really want to.

Yes, there's something to be said about two people working through problems in a relationship. However, you have to be keen to when the relationship, in general, is the problem and/or you're the only one trying to work it out. Here are 8 signs that it is probably the best time to break it off and exit stage left.

I met a man that surely sits at the right side of Satan himself. This man tricked me emotionally by pretending to be something that he is not, and over a three-year period has shown himself to be an abusive psychotic. He has me walking on eggshells. He is moody and acts like he never wants me around, but when I stay away, he pulls me back.

He badgers me constantly about my education and accomplishments (he's a blue-collar guy, which is okay with me) through constant criticism and belittling. He is jealous, accuses me of this and that, and I am always defending myself.

He acts like he hates me, then talks about us spending our life together. He often stops speaking to me, then calls like nothing happened. I can't do anything right for him. He is unpredictable.