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20-Year Itch: Long Marriages End in Record Divorces
18 Oct
Summary
- Over a quarter of opposite-sex divorces in England and Wales were after 20 years.
- Divorce after 20 years is a growing trend, mirroring the US experience.
- Rising cost of living may prevent unhappy couples from divorcing.
Official data from England and Wales indicates a significant rise in divorces occurring after two decades of marriage. In 2025, 26% of divorces involving opposite-sex couples happened after 20 or more years, a figure higher than the 23% for marriages between five and nine years. This marks the second time the longer marriage duration has topped the statistics.
This trend of "grey divorce" is also observed in the United States, where divorces after 20 years have doubled since the 1990s. While some may feel liberated to end unhappy unions, researchers caution about potential financial insecurity for older divorcees, particularly women.
The average length of a marriage ending in divorce in England and Wales reached a record 13 years in 2025. Lawyers suggest that the current cost of living crisis is a major factor keeping unhappy couples together, as the financial burden of establishing separate households is substantial.
Previously, the "seven-year itch" was the most common period for divorce, with the largest proportion of divorces since 1963 occurring between five and nine years of marriage. Legal experts believe that staying together for the sake of children is a contributing factor to the rise in long-term separations.
