Marriages that end in divorce are now lasting longer than at any point since records began, according to figures released this week by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The median length of a marriage before it ends in divorce reached 13 years in England and Wales in 2025. This marks an increase from 12.7 years in 2023 and a low of 8.9 years in 1985 for opposite-sex marriages.
The ONS figures also show a sharp decline in the proportion of couples divorcing during their first decade of marriage. For those married in 2015, an estimated 16.3% had divorced by their 10th anniversary, compared to 24.7% of couples who married in 1995.
While the ONS research does not definitively explain why marriages are ending later, it suggests several hypotheses. These include couples potentially delaying the legal end of their relationships until they can afford the financial implications of separation.
Professor Emma Hitchings, deputy head of the University of Bristol law school, noted that while no-fault divorces have made the legal process easier, separating one household into two has not. She highlighted that higher tax and mortgage rates, childcare costs, and cuts to legal aid may contribute to couples needing more time to calculate the feasibility of separation.
Experts also point to other possible reasons, such as disruption to family courts around the Covid pandemic, the introduction of a minimum 20-week period between the start of proceedings and application for a final order in 2022, and wider global and environmental uncertainty.