Are Divorce Rates Falling in the UK?

The vows of marriage are routinely being broken, but perhaps less so than most people might assume. Divorce rates have been steadily falling for many years now among opposite sex partners, but there are many different factors at play causing marriages to become that little bit more resilient to the divorce curse. Moreover, not all of them are particularly good either.

Statistically speaking, since the 1990s divorces have slowly whittled down in number, but it doesn’t mean everything is amazing once the big day is over. As is commonly known, marriage does not always equate to happiness. Some husbands and wives will try to make everything work and swim against the current, even if their efforts are in vain. Moreover, unhappy marriages are also a very real thing, as great swathes of the population are locked into nuptials either against their will or are simply too loyal to call time on a failing relationship.

There’s also parenthood to consider too

In 2014, there were 2 million lone parent families in the UK, and a whopping 91% of these were single mothers. Compare this to the 12.5 million married couple families in that same year, and these findings make it easy to assume that many couples try to stay together for the sake of their children. Kids who go through the divorce of their parents at an early age can act out, feel isolated or deprived of a loving environment, and many married persons keep these things in mind and make their children their top priority. Of course, it can be counterproductive, in that their offspring may grow up in a household that isn’t quite as loving as their peers, but the reasons for staying together are noble all the same.

What about people who refuse to get married?

Then there’s the other side of the coin; people who refuse to get married. Many people are starting to realise that marriage isn’t for them, as their own relationship goals don’t fully align with wedlock. While 2014 saw 247,372 opposite sex marriages, 2015 witnessed a 3.4% drop in 239,020 ceremonies. This is no doubt partially attributed to younger couples who enjoy living together, but never make that final move to seal the deal and walk down the aisle. Therefore, less marriages equals less divorces, and there’s been a gradual decline of marriage here in opposite sex couples since as far back as the 1970s. Put simply, people just don’t want to get hitched as much anymore and are beginning to become more sensitive to the drawbacks that married life brings.

The media often covers high profile divorces, particularly from celebrities and public figures. This kind of coverage can mislead people into thinking that large proportions of people have a long succession of spouses, but it’s not the case. In fact, most people know that the procedure of divorce is messy and complicated in and of itself, requiring quality family law solicitors to divide finances fairly to make sure everyone comes out of the proceedings cleanly. Still, divorce can be a costly and nasty ordeal, and this is likely another potential aspect of marriage that turns off many people getting married at all.