New data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) paints a changing picture of divorce trends in England and Wales, with couples divorcing at the end of longer marriages and creating more complex financial implications when deciding how to split assets.
ONS data shows that the median duration of marriages ending in divorce was 13 years for opposite sex couples in 2025, the longest since the start of the time series in 1963.
Record highs were also seen for same sex civil partnerships, with median durations at dissolution at 13.7 years for male couples and 13.6 years for female couples.
Meanwhile the rate of married couples divorcing before reaching their tenth anniversary has dropped, with an estimated 16.3% of couples who married in 2015 divorcing before reaching the decade milestone, in comparison to 24.7% in 1995.
Of those who formed a civil partnership in 2015, 14.4% had dissolved their partnership before reaching their tenth anniversary.
Julian Ribet, partner and founder at Ribet Myles, said the latest statistics show a “significant shift in the shape of divorce” which has “important implications for how couples approach their financial separation”.
He said: “Longer marriages can mean greater financial complexity.
“Couples may have spent more years building up property, pensions, savings and investments, meaning there can be considerably more to untangle when a relationship ends.
“It reinforces the importance of taking a holistic view of finances rather than treating divorce simply as the division of the most obvious assets.”
There were 105,961 legal partnership dissolutions in England and Wales in 2025, comprising 105,002 divorces and 959 civil partnership dissolutions.
While the numbers are not dissimilar to those from 2023 to 2024, they represent a stark contrast to annual figures from the 1980s to early 2000s, when there were around 150,000 divorces per year.
The change in behaviour in the last two decades could be attributed to “economic uncertainty”, Vanessa Friend, head of family law at Hodge Jones & Allen, suggested.
“With less disposable income due to higher tax rates, mortgage rates and school fees, for example, couples are spending more time trying to calculate how they can feasibly afford to separate, which may account for why marriages are lasting longer before divorce”, she explained.
“We are having more conversations around separation agreements, which acknowledge that a couple have separated but are not yet ready to officially call time on the marriage, legally. This, alongside post-nuptial agreements – financial agreements in the event of divorce – demonstrates that people are mindful of how hard it is to split one pot into two.”
Samantha Woodham, barrister at 4PB, said the move to no-fault divorce has made the legal process of ending a marriage more straightforward, with 94.2% of legal partnership dissolutions in 2025 granted under the new regime.
She added: “However, simplifying the divorce process does not simplify the financial separation that follows. The key questions remain how assets should be divided and how both parties can achieve financial security after the marriage ends.
“The earlier couples understand their full financial position and take focussed legal advice, the better placed they are to reach a fair and workable outcome.”
Statistics also showed that in 2025 nearly three-quarters (74.1%) of all final orders granted under the new legislation were from sole applications, which were more common among divorces than civil partnership dissolutions.
Family lawyers react
Samantha Woodham, barrister, 4PB:
These latest divorce statistics tell us something important about the nature of separation. The number of divorces remain broadly in line with recent years, but are still below the levels seen from the 1980s through to the early 2000s. More strikingly, the median duration of marriage at divorce has reached 13 years – the longest recorded in the ONS series.
For couples divorcing after a longer marriage, the financial picture can be considerably more complex, with pensions, property, investments, businesses and deferred remuneration all potentially requiring careful consideration. The longer a marriage has lasted, the more likely it is that financial lives have become deeply intertwined.
The move to no-fault divorce has made the legal process of ending a marriage more straightforward, with 94.2% of legal partnership dissolutions in 2025 granted under the new regime. However, simplifying the divorce process does not simplify the financial separation that follows. The key questions remain how assets should be divided and how both parties can achieve financial security after the marriage ends.
The earlier couples understand their full financial position and take focussed legal advice, the better placed they are to reach a fair and workable outcome.”
This is surprising given the introduction of no-fault divorce, and a new online process making divorce applications easier. However, alongside this couples have to reach a financial settlement, which in itself can be a difficult, protracted process. This is not helped by the tricky economic climate, with splitting assets and running a household on a single income being increasingly challenging. This may mean that people are staying together longer and finding alternative solutions to divorce, because it is simply unaffordable to go their separate ways.
Vanessa Friend, head of family law, Hodge Jones & Allen:
We have seen a shift in the behaviour around divorce in the last few years, predominantly driven by economic uncertainty. With less disposable income due to higher tax rates, mortgage rates and school fees, for example, couples are spending more time trying to calculate how they can feasibly afford to separate, which may account for why marriages are lasting longer before divorce.
We are having more conversations around separation agreements, which acknowledge that a couple have separated but are not yet ready to officially call time on the marriage, legally. This, alongside post-nuptial agreements – financial agreements in the event of divorce – demonstrates that people are mindful of how hard it is to split one pot into two.
We have also seen more individuals articulate their experiences of abusive behaviour in their marriages. Five years ago, this reason for divorce would not have been cited as frequently, demonstrating that the societal shift towards who should carry the shame of abuse and education around this issue is positively empowering those being abused.
However, predominantly we are seeing the exhaustion of life, particularly money issues, driving divorces as opposed to one dramatic event such as infidelity, which used to be a key reason for marital breakdown.
Julian Ribet, partner & founder, Ribet Myles:
Divorce is increasingly coming at the end of longer marriages, with the median marriage ending in divorce reaching 13 years in 2025 – the longest recorded by the ONS. That is a significant shift in the shape of divorce and has important implications for how couples approach their financial separation.
Longer marriages can mean greater financial complexity. Couples may have spent more years building up property, pensions, savings and investments, meaning there can be considerably more to untangle when a relationship ends. It reinforces the importance of taking a holistic view of finances rather than treating divorce simply as the division of the most obvious assets.
The figures also point to a changing pattern among newer generations. Just 16.3% of couples who married in 2015 had divorced by their 10th anniversary, compared with 24.7% of those who married in 1995. While the reasons for this shift are likely to be varied, it suggests that early divorce is becoming less common among more recent marriage cohorts.
Four years on from the introduction of no-fault divorce, 74.1% of divorces and dissolutions under the new legislation were sole applications. This remains an important insight into how couples are choosing to navigate the end of their relationships under the new system.
Jo Edwards, head of family, Forsters:
The marriage rate is decreasing. This suggests that those who do make the commitment, do so carefully (usually after a period of cohabitation) and are therefore more likely to stay the course for longer.
Many of those who have taken time out of the workplace to raise children may also want to re-establish some earning capacity before starting divorce proceedings (especially as the courts are increasingly likely to expect someone in that position to exploit their earning capacity on divorce and work towards financial independence).
It feels as though, more than ever, people are more financially savvy and think carefully about the financial picture before starting divorce proceedings. With the growth in the number of pre- and post-nuptial agreements in England, there is ever more financial openness between couples and they may decide to wait to divorce until the financial picture is more favourable. This is especially the case in times of economic uncertainty and it may well be that the post-pandemic/cost of living crisis factors are driving people waiting to divorce.
Michal Stepniak, associate, Simkins LLP:
The rising average length of marriages ending in divorce may reflect both financial and emotional realities. Many couples simply cannot ignore the economic consequences of separation in the current climate, with the prospect of running two households often leading people to stay together longer than they otherwise might. Others remain for the sake of their children or because they fear the unknowns of life after divorce.
Yet there is often a disconnect between those fears and the reality. Many people spend years delaying an inevitable decision, only to find that once they have moved through the divorce process, they are happier, more settled and better able to co-parent. For those living in persistently unhappy marriages, the grass is often greener on the other side.
David Lillywhite, partner, Burgess Mee:
Couples are now typically divorcing after 13 years of marriage, the longest since records began in 1963. By that stage, there is usually a great deal to untangle: the family home, other property, pensions and, in some cases, a business. In our experience, pensions are often worth more than people expect and are frequently overlooked. Anyone facing a divorce should get a clear picture of the full financial position early, before any negotiation begins.
No-fault divorce has removed blame from the process, and 94% of divorces are now granted under the new law. However, it has not made separation straightforward. Almost three-quarters (74%) are still sole applications, and among opposite-sex couples, 61% of those are brought by women. If you receive an application, it is important to engage with it rather than ignore it, as the divorce will go ahead regardless. Many people are also surprised to learn that a divorce does not settle the finances. That must be dealt with separately.
The belief that half of all marriages end in divorce does not reflect the evidence. Of couples who married in 2015, 16.3% had divorced by their tenth anniversary, compared with 24.7% of those who married in 1995. People are marrying later, often with property or savings already in place. For those couples, a prenuptial agreement isn’t about expecting the worst. It’s a practical way of making sure both people are clear about where they stand from the outset.
Susie Barter, partner, Burgess Mee:
There was real concern that no-fault divorce would make it too easy to walk away from a marriage. The figures show that has not happened. There were 105,961 divorces and dissolutions in 2025, almost unchanged from 105,664 in 2024 and 103,816 in 2023, and well below the 150,000 a year seen in the 1980s and 1990s. This reflects the reality that couples do not take the decision to divorce lightly. In practice the 20-week reflection period gives couples valuable time to start to address financial arrangements. The application for the final divorce order is commonly delayed until a financial order is in place.
Lisa Pepper, partner and specialist divorce lawyer, Osbornes Law:
Divorce is now more accessible than it ever has been in the past 60 years yet these incredible figures show that couples are staying together for a record amount of time. You can start the guillotine of divorce by simply going online and logging into a portal, yet there is an amazing dichotomy in that marriages are lasting longer. This could show that marriage is alive and kicking, which is also illustrated by the number of couples signing pre nups going through the roof. The less romantic reason is likely to be that couples can’t afford to get divorced and face the financial hand grenade that it results in. Couples are more hesitant to get divorced and trying things like mediation or couples therapy before going for the nuclear option as the consequences are often perceived as worse than continuing with their marriage.
Alex Davies, partner, Wedlake Bell:
Whether divorce numbers have risen or fallen, the bigger story is that family life has changed dramatically in recent decades. Increasing numbers of couples now live together without marrying, yet the law has not kept pace. Proposals for reform were made as long ago as 2007 and family lawyers have been calling for reform for many years. The government’s current proposals could provide much-needed financial protection for cohabiting couples and their children while better reflecting the reality of modern relationships. Meanwhile, there are no identifiable factors that would signal a significant change of divorce rates for better or for worse.
Alexander Breedon, partner, Withers:
Today’s divorce statistics arrive as the government is ruminating over how best to reform the law surrounding financial claims on divorce. What these statistics underline is how important it is that we have a clear and fair system in place which helps and protects those going through marital breakdown. Importantly the government is also considering whether to provide some (though different) protections for those cohabiting couples who separate, and who are not represented in this morning’s statistics. Either way, married or civil partnered or cohabiting, separating couples need a legal framework which fits them and gives their family a fair outcome.
Charmain Hast, partner, Collyer Bristol:
This very slight rise suggests divorce numbers are levelling off after the flurry of divorces we saw in 2023, following the introduction of no-fault divorce.
This will also have been influenced by broader, longer-term trends in attitudes towards marriage and the proposed extension of legal rights to cohabiting couples if implemented providing more security outside of marriage. While marriage continues to confer significant legal and financial rights, changing social attitudes may mean that it is no longer regarded as the default choice for the modern couple or family.”
Sital Fontenelle, head of the family and divorce team, Kingsley Napley:
The combined impact of the pandemic and the introduction of the new Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act in April 2022 is now easing off and divorce is once again returning to normal levels. The marked trend, however, continues to be that divorce rates are down from their peak in the 90s and the decline reflects falling marriage rates. In contrast, same-sex divorces are increasing.
Our own view of the divorce market at the moment is that the prolonged uncertain economic outlook is meaning some couples are now just getting on with it and not delaying in the hope of a better financial situation ahead. We are seeing more and more couples opting to resolve the division of their finances away from a court setting given the long delays in the Family Courts and many are achieving a resolution of finances based on pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements. Recorded divorces are also typically happening later and after longer marriages with the so-called silver splitter cohort being a very real trend.
Given co-habitation is now the most popular relationship model and the norm for many younger families today it is good news that this Government has consulted on reform of rights and protections in this area and it must be hoped their proposals progress swiftly. There are many different ways that partners choose to commit in society today but relationship breakdown is a theme common to all sadly, hence we need adequate protection for the vulnerable regardless of the formality of relationship they find themselves in.
