Marriage is (or at the very least, should be) a commitment to a person and is very much a 2 way street...
OTOH, it's just a piece of paper, if that's what you want it to be...
You can be married or co-habiting - the commitment is what counts...
oh, and btw, I doubt that I could believe a woman that says, "it makes no difference"; to them, "love" will always be "above the water-line"...