To quote an old English colloquialism " What a load of old bollocks " !
My parents were never married and it made no difference to my family life whatsoever.
I saw in my childhood married couples who despised each other, yet in those days could not escape the shackles of marriage because of the puritanical outlook and the so called " Holy Sacraments " of marriage, and ended up despising each other, and because of thier loathing toward each other the children suffered sometimes irreversible psychological damage, whilst other families who's parents didn't for whatever reason see the point of marriage enjoyed a stable and loving upbringing, as the parents committed themselves to each other because they wanted to on a daily basis, not because of a piece of paper.
How many young people in the 50s and 60s had to get married because the girl became pregnant, and because it was the "decent thing to do" in those days to prevent bringing shame on the girl.....Some of those marriages were fortunate to survive but many more failed and the child of that union was in many cases loathed by the father, because it had committed him to a lifetime of " misery " in a relationship where he didn't mind originally having sex with the woman but never would have chose her as a lifetime partner.
I am a bastard through birth and have enjoyed a varied and very good life with a wonderful family, many of you are bastards but self made men who's birth had nothing to do with what you have become.
Always nice to start the week on a positive note ! 😉