Articles
It's different now
Lyn and Brett had been living together for 13 years when they decided to have a family. Brett insisted they marry before having children. Lyn was terrified. They had such a good relationship she didn’t want to do anything that might jeopardize it. She genuinely believed marriage may do so. After all, one in three marriages ended in divorce.
In the mid 1970s when Family Law was changed making it less expensive and much, much easier to divorce, the number of divorces sky rocketed and continued to increase at a steady rate from then on. Then in 2001 the pendulum began to swing back. For the first time the number of divorces started to fall. They have continued to fall every year since.
Even when marriage ends in divorce, the length of time from marriage to divorce is increasing. In 1994 the median duration was 10.9 years. It is now 12.3 years. So why are more of us staying married permanently and even those who separate staying married longer?
Certainly couples are more mature by the time they come to marry. In 1971 the average age of grooms was 23 and that of brides 21. To-day the average age of grooms is 28 and brides 27. Perhaps easy divorce has not turned out to be the simple answer to happiness we thought it would be. To begin with, you can find yourself up to 75% worse off financially after divorce.
Whatever the reasons, we are now working harder at making marriage work. And we are succeeding. As for Lyn and Brett; they did marry. Their daughters are aged 17 and 13. They are adamant marriage is the way to go.