Men shaping up, but January divorce spike still expected

Men are behaving less badly in the early years of marriage, triggering a sharp fall in the number of women seeking a divorce. New research has found that just 4.2% of wives are demanding an end to their marriages within the first five years, the lowest level since 1973 and close to half the rate it was in 1986, the worst year for marriages that have gone on to end in divorce.

The behavioural improvement is one of the most important factors in the decline in the overall divorce rate over the past 30 years, because most divorces are initiated by women. In 2013, 114,720 couples divorced, down by more than 50,000 from the peak of 165,018 in 1993. Sir Paul Coleridge, founder of the Marriage Foundation, said the figures suggested that men were catching up with women’s expectations.

Meanwhile, research from Co-op Legal Services has suggested that rows over Christmas are not the main reason behind the annual spike in the number of couples starting divorce proceedings in January. Its researchers interviewed 500 divorced people who had been represented by the company’s lawyers. A quarter of those surveyed said that their separation was already planned but they had postponed it until after a big event, such as Christmas. Men were more likely than women to hold off until after a family occasion, with 27% saying that this was the case, compared with 23% of women.

Of those who said they had delayed taking steps towards divorce, a third said specifically that they wanted to have one last Christmas together.