A "normal relationship" is not about building a lifetime together. It's about dancing and laughing and climbing and surfing together and sharing your nows as they fit while they fit. Helping each other as you can or desire and keeping your eye on your own ball.
Marriage is a team work of an entirely different kind that an affair or a boyfriend/girlfriend.
Marriage is a "normal" relationship, in most cultures. It's the legal binding of people's lives who choose to commit to one another for an indefinite period of time, to build a life together, and want it legally known they've chosen to do so.