Divorce after 20 years: longest marriages now most likely to end, ONS figures show
More than a quarter of opposite-sex divorces in England and Wales last year involved couples married 20 years or more, according to ONS data - overtaking the five-to-nine-year group that has long led the statistics.
Divorce after 20 years: longest marriages now most likely to end, ONS figures show
The numbers behind the shift
New ONS divorce figures show the largest single group of opposite-sex divorces in England and Wales last year was couples who had been married for two decades or longer - meaning divorce after 20 years of marriage has overtaken every shorter category. Of the 102,879 opposite-sex divorces recorded last year, 26% involved couples married 20 years or more.
- Just over a quarter of opposite-sex divorces happened after 20 years or longer of marriage
- Marriages lasting five to nine years accounted for 23% of last year's divorces, placing that group second
A category that rarely lost before
The change stands out because, since records began in 1963, the biggest share of divorces each year has almost always belonged to couples married five to nine years - the span that covers the so-called seven-year itch. Only once before has that group been knocked into second place: in the mid-1980s, when a new law cut the minimum term of a marriage from three years to one.
Why long marriages are ending later
The average length of a marriage ending in divorce in England and Wales reached a record high last year. Earlier ONS figures put the average marriage ending in divorce in 2025 at 13 years - the longest since records began in 1963, and up from a record low of 8.9 years in 1985.
Divorce lawyers have said some couples are putting off splitting up because of the cost of living crisis. Lisa Pepper, a divorce lawyer at Osbornes Law, said most of her cases involve long marriages, with couples often staying together for the children's sake.
"The largest percentage of cases I see are after a long marriage."
Rebecca Aston-Jones, a senior associate at Clarke Willmott, said the rising cost of living was keeping unhappy couples together, citing the significant financial pressure that comes with establishing and maintaining two separate households.
Grey divorce beyond England and Wales
The pattern is not confined to England and Wales. A Pew study found the rate of Americans divorcing after 20 years of marriage had doubled since the 1990s. The researchers behind the study sounded one caution, while separate analysis points the other way.
- Pew researchers cautioned that grey divorcees tend to be less financially secure than married and widowed adults, particularly among women
- Analysis by US law firm Weinberger found those with adequate financial resources may feel more freedom to uncouple amid less societal pressure
The ONS figures confirm the average marriage ending in divorce in England and Wales reached a record high last year.
