Divorce in numbers

One of the best pieces of marriage advice I ever read, was from a 90-year-old lady who had been married for 70 years. When asked what here secret was to a long marriage, she replied “Remembering that there would be times that I didn’t like him” – she went on to admit that there had been whole years when she hated her husband – when one person had grown and the other hadn’t caught up yet. That marriage was hard work – it’s not all sunshine and joy. But that she said “I do” for life and the ebb and flow of life meant that while there were times they didn’t get on, there were more times that they did.

As a child of a divorced family, I always vowed that I wouldn’t go down the same route. It’s been almost 14 years since I said I do. At the time, I knew many didn’t expect us to last. We were just 21 and had only been together for 4 months when we eloped. Yet 14 years and four kids on here we still are. And the old lady’s words are so true. We haven’t grown up at exactly the same rate, there have been times we’ve fought and argued, times I can’t stand the sight of him, yet I’ve always pushed through that and known that the dynamics would move again and all would be well. My marriage is truly worth fighting for, and it’s something that is a constant work in progress.

The Law House have put together an interesting infographic looking at divorce in numbers. I couldn’t believe that the oldest divorcees were 99 and 96 after a 77 year marriage!

Let’s hope that being most likely to divorce in your 40s doesn’t prove true for us!