Couples stay married longer because they can’t afford to get divorced, data shows

Couples in England and Wales are remaining married for longer periods before separating, fresh figures show.

The average length of a marriage ending in divorce reached a record high of 13 years in 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This marks the longest duration since records began in 1963, rising from a record low of 8.9 years recorded in 1985.

Offering a potential explanation, one divorce lawyer noted that couples "can’t afford to get divorced and face the financial hand grenade that it results in".

The ONS stated that overall divorce rates remain stable and are lower than peak levels in the 1980s to 2000s, when around 150,000 divorces occurred each year. In 2025, there were 105,002 divorces registered in England and Wales, consisting of 102,879 opposite-sex couples and 2,123 same-sex couples.

During the same year, 959 civil partnership dissolutions took place, comprising 270 opposite-sex couples and 689 same-sex couples.

Same-sex divorces reached their highest level since same-sex marriage was introduced a decade earlier, with 2,123 same-sex divorces taking place in 2025.

More recent marriages were less likely to end in divorce within the first 10 years than those which took place in the 1980s and 1990s, the ONS said.

Around one in 10 couples (9.9 per cent) who married in 1965 had divorced by their 10th wedding anniversary, and this rose to almost a quarter (24.7 per cent) for couples who married in 1995.

But among couples who married in 2005, this decreased to around a fifth (20.7 per cent) and for those who married in 2015 it had fallen to 16.3 per cent being divorced by their 10th anniversary.

The ONS said the changes were “likely be caused by a range of factors including legislation changes, change over time in the average age at marriage, and changes in societal attitudes to divorce and dissolution”.

The head of population life events at the ONS, Greg Ceely, said: “Divorce rates have remained stable over the past few years, but are lower than the peak levels in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.

“Our latest findings show that people who divorce or dissolve a partnership are staying in the relationship for longer before it ends.”

Lisa Pepper, partner and specialist divorce lawyer at Osbornes Law, said: “Divorce is now more accessible than it ever has been in the past 60 years yet these incredible figures show that couples are staying together for a record amount of time.”

She suggested one “less romantic reason” for marriages lasting longer before divorce “is likely to be that couples can’t afford to get divorced”.

She added: “Couples are more hesitant to get divorced and trying things like mediation or couples therapy before going for the nuclear option as the consequences are often perceived as worse than continuing with their marriage.”