Signs that you are likely to divorce

Hi Chris,

I have not been married long, but already I am beginning to worry that my husband and I might eventually split up. It is not that there is anything disastrously wrong, but I just feel uneasy. Is there anything that predicts how likely couples are to divorce?

Divorce Risk

Hi Divorce Risk!

You are more likely to divorce if you are two or more years older than your husband. Or if either of your parents divorced and remarried, especially your husband's parents.

The divorce risk is higher for couples who marry young, or if any of their children were conceived before they married, or if either of them had previous marriages.

Your divorce risk will rise if you become dissatisfied with your relationship, especially if your family income is low; you have no savings, you argue about money a lot, or your husband becomes unemployed.

You are more likely to divorce if you fall sick, if just one of you is a smoker, or if one of you rarely ever smiles. Or if you want children much more than your husband.

Your divorce risk is higher if you remain childless, have only daughters, or if your husband is a very high-testosterone male. Or if any of your children are difficult to rear, if you have twins or triplets, or if you lose a child shortly before or after giving birth.

You are also more likely to divorce if either of you previously cohabited with a lover other than your current partner, and much more likely to divorce if either of you cohabited several times. The risks are also higher, but much less so, if you and your husband only cohabited before marriage with each other. Especially if you became officially engaged before moving in.

You are more likely to divorce if either of you are in the wrong profession. For example, entertainers are high risk, actuaries much lower, and agricultural engineers lowest of all! Though the differences are probably due to factors like income and personality rather than the occupation itself.

But it is not all bleak. These are just statistics, and if you are committed and close to one another then you will be able to overcome almost any difficulty. And despite rumours to the contrary, divorce rates are not rising - marriages are getting more resilient, and we are getting better at sorting out our problems. So do not give up too easily!

All the best,

Chris