We examined patterns of marital well-being over the first 7 years of marriage and whether factors connected to early marital well-being during year 1 impacted marital well-being over time. Data were collected as part of a longitudinal panel study following 199 Black American and 174 White American during the first 7 years of marriage. Multilevel growth curve modeling revealed that race, income, and premarital child affected husbands' marital well-being in year 1. Education, wives' employment status, and divorced parents influenced wives' marital well-being at year 1. After accounting for differences in these early marital conditions, having a child before marriage was significant in predicting the rates of change over time for husbands. Divorced parents affected the rate of change in marital well-being for wives. The findings suggest that as couples settle into their marriages, risk factors have fewer consequences on marital well-being. The high rates of divorce in the USA have generated a great deal of research aimed at understanding the factors related to the trajectory of marital well-being over time (Amato et al. 2003; VanLaningham et al. 2001). The results confirm that perceptions of marital well-being are strong predictors of marital stability and that spouses'