Why Couples Are Delaying Divorce: New Insights Revealed
Financial Strains and Changing Attitudes Extend Marriages
Increasing financial pressures, evolving legal frameworks, and shifting societal attitudes may be contributing to couples remaining married for longer periods, according to recent findings.
“We don’t know anyone whose marriage hit the skids after just a few years,” Celia shared, reflecting on her own divorce. “Everyone seemed to cling on to their relationships for as long as they possibly could.”
Celia took two years to file for divorce after realizing her 12-year marriage was stagnant. Recent statistics indicate that this trend is becoming more common, with the duration of marriages before divorce now at an all-time high since records began.
“I approached it very methodically,” the AI analyst explained. “I knew that women almost always end up financially worse off after divorce, especially when children are involved, so I took the time I needed to turbocharge my career before pressing ‘eject’.”
Celia noted that she and her ex-husband, Martyn, were in their 40s when they married, which influenced their decision-making.
“Because we were older and wiser, we took the time to try to mend our relationship instead of rushing off to start a new life,” she remarked. “When that didn’t work, Martyn was mature enough to know it was best for the children, me, and us that he subtly left me alone to get to where I needed to be before we formally called time on the relationship.”
New Statistics on Marriage Durations
Figures released this week by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that the median duration of marriages before divorce in England and Wales reached 13 years in 2025, up from 12.7 years in 2023 and significantly higher than the 8.9 years recorded in 1985.
Moreover, the percentage of couples divorcing within the first decade of marriage has dropped sharply. Among those who married in 2015, only 16.3% divorced by their 10th anniversary, compared to 24.7% of couples who wed in 1995.
Understanding the Delay in Divorce
While the ONS research does not provide definitive reasons for the trend of later divorces, it does propose several hypotheses. One possibility is that couples may be postponing the legal dissolution of their marriages until they can afford the financial implications.
Professor Emma Hitchings, deputy head of the University of Bristol law school and leader of the Fair Shares project, noted, “Divorce may have become legally easier, with the advent of no-fault divorces, but separating one household into two has not.”
She elaborated, “The longer a couple stays together, the more intertwined their finances become, making the divorce process more complex.”
- Higher tax and mortgage rates
- Childcare and school fees
- General cost of living increases
- Reduced legal aid for family law proceedings
These factors contribute to couples taking more time to consider how they can afford to separate, potentially explaining why marriages are lasting longer before divorce.
Celia noted, “We have three groups of friends, across Europe and in the US, who went through divorces after marriages of a decade or more.”
International Trends in Divorce
Supporting Celia’s observations, research from the Pew Research Center found that the median length of marriages ending in divorce in the US increased from 10 years in 2008 to 12 years in 2023. Similarly, Germany reported an average of 14.6 years for marriages ending in divorce in 2025, while the Netherlands recorded 14.7 years, and Belgium noted a median of 12.03 years in 2024.
Although the figures differ due to varying methods of data collection, the overarching trend of longer-lasting marriages before divorce is not unique to the UK.
The Impact of No-Fault Divorce
Anne Barlow, professor emeritus of family law and policy at the University of Exeter, pointed out an intriguing aspect of the British statistics. “No-fault divorce, introduced in 2022, simplified the legal process for exiting marriage, yet there has not been a corresponding surge in divorce rates,” she stated.
Dr. Alexander Maine, a senior lecturer at the City law school, suggested that the option of no-fault divorce might allow couples to navigate separation without the emotional turmoil that often accompanied blame assignments. “If there is no need to prove fault, there may be less urgency to legally end the marriage,” he explained.
Greg Ceely, head of population life events at the ONS, emphasized that further research is necessary to draw definitive conclusions. “The change can’t definitively be attributed to any one factor because numerous social and economic variables could also influence the trend,” he stated.
Other Influencing Factors
Experts have identified additional reasons for the extended durations of marriages before divorce, including disruptions to family courts during the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of a minimum 20-week period between the initiation of divorce proceedings and the final order application in 2022.
Julia Carter, a senior lecturer in sociology at the University of the West of England, Bristol, noted that global uncertainties are also affecting couples’ decisions. “People express reluctance to introduce further instability into their homes, particularly when children are involved,” she said.
Carter highlighted that women continue to be the primary initiators of divorce. “If we’re saying that people are waiting longer to get divorced, we’re essentially saying that women are delaying their decisions to divorce,” she added.
She reflected on the societal shifts since the 1990s and 2000s, stating, “There has been a rollback from the narrative of female empowerment, with various crises impacting women’s perspectives on marriage as a source of stability.”
Same-Sex Marriage Trends
In examining same-sex marriage statistics, the ONS reported that the median duration of marriages ending in divorce was 7.5 years for male couples and 6.6 years for female couples in 2025. These figures must be interpreted cautiously due to the relatively recent legalization of same-sex marriage in England and Wales in 2014.
However, the 6.6-year figure for female couples is the highest recorded since the first same-sex divorces occurred in 2015.
Maine suggested that same-sex couples might have unique motivations for valuing marriage. “Marriage equality was a hard-fought battle for many in the LGBTQ+ community, making divorce feel like a failure not only of the relationship but also of the broader community,” he remarked.
Brienna Perelli-Harris, a demography professor at the University of Southampton, pointed to a more fundamental shift that could explain the trend: the rise of cohabitation. “More than 90% of people in Britain cohabit before marriage,” she noted, suggesting that couples who live together and find their relationships unworkable can separate without marrying. “Thus, marriage may be becoming a more selective institution,” she concluded.
Source Reference: ‘I turbocharged my career then pressed eject’: why couples are getting divorced later