Successful Rotational Gameplay without MODS

I started a rotational gameplay save prior to Lovestruck. I used mods to help set up relationships between the neighbors and managing some aspects of the game like aging, pregnancies, skill etc to help create backstories. I do not use mods anymore as I do not have the patience nor the motivation to keep up with updates as lots of mods end up not being properly managed and get abandoned by their creators too often. 

I noticed when Lovestruck released my families and their relationships took a huge hit when I was not actively playing them. I would play one family for about 4-5 sim days then move on to the next. When I would load the marriages always ended up in divorce or I was constantly having to rebuild their relationships because the decay was rapidly decreasing. Even with the use of UI cheats it was still a daunting task. I eventually shelved the save and haven't touched it since. 

Now that I no longer use mods I am wondering if anything has improved with tuning relationships so they aren't deteriorating at a rapid pace, are they more manageable now with any updates? Are there tips to going back into rotational play to prevent relationship decay or should I abandon the save entirely and give up playing rotationally? I am cleaning out my saves I have stored and I am checking to see if anything has changed.