The number of marriages and civil partnerships fell by just under 9% in the year from 2022 to 2023 according to recently published Office for National Statistics (ONS) data; reflecting an overall trend since the 1970’s in falling numbers, and a reduction since a post-pandemic surge in 2021 and 2022 after couples were forced to delay their nuptials due to national lockdown and social-distancing rules.
There were 231,949 marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales in 2023, an 8.6% decrease from 2022. By 2023 3.3% of all legal partnership formations were civil partnerships with 6,179 opposite-sex and 1,368 same-sex civil partnerships.
The figures once again highlight the ‘marked trend’ amongst younger couples to cohabit, said Sital Fontenelle, Head of Kingsley Napley’s Family & Divorce team, ‘despite the lack of protection when these relationships breakdown where parties can be exposed to financial hardship and children may suffer harsher outcomes.’
The numbers are also evident of longer term financial pressure added Jamie Kennaugh, Partner in the family team at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys.
“The cost-of-living crisis began to bite in 2023, squeezing household budgets and impacting major life decisions. For many couples facing rising rents and everyday costs, the financial burden of a wedding has put marriage out of reach, or at least on the backburner for now. Instead, more people are choosing to delay marriage or cohabit as an alternative. For some, living together is a step towards marriage; for others, it’s a permanent arrangement.”
Both highlight how the shift is reflected in the rising average age at which men and women marry; 34.8 years for men and 33.0 years for women entering into an opposite sex partnership for the first time. The highest number of marriages (including civil partnerships) occurred amongst people aged 30-34.
“Our client insights concur with this picture. We see ever growing interest in marriage protection in the form of pre-nuptial agreements from couples tying the knot later in life who already have assets or successful careers (and earning power) which they want to protect in the event of divorce. Many will have an eye on inheritance planning and looking at tax efficient ways in which to transfer wealth to the next generation, and do not want a marriage breakdown to scupper these plans.”
said Fontenelle.
Kennaugh concurs but suggests their own research found that three quarters of Gen Z adults say they want to get married versus just 43% of Millennials. “So, it will be interesting to see whether this trend will reverse in the medium term. It may be that greater ease with the concept and adoption of prenuptial agreements may give comfort to some about the financial risk of marrying.”
The statistics mirror ONS figures published earlier this month which showed nearly two thirds of the population in England and Wales either live with a legal partner or cohabit. One million more people cohabit in 2024 than in 2014 with family professionals calling on the government to take action on law which is ‘not only out of date for societal norms but also compared to other jurisdictions.’
