In England and Wales, higher costs of living may be causing some couples to delay divorce, stretching out marriages that might otherwise have ended sooner.
Here's what to know
Divorce lawyers say some couples are postponing separation because paying for two homes has become too expensive.
"One of the main factors discouraging people from pursuing a divorce is the significant financial pressure that comes with establishing and maintaining two separate households," Rebecca Aston-Jones, a senior associate at law firm Clarke Willmott, told the Guardian.
The news outlet reported on data from the Office for National Statistics — or ONS — showing that "there are fewer divorces now than at their peak in the 1980s-2000s, when they reached 150,000 a year."
Greg Ceely of the ONS told the Guardian, "Our latest findings show that people who divorce or dissolve a partnership are staying in the relationship for longer before it ends."
In Aston-Jones's view, the financial reality of separating can be so daunting that some people stay together longer, even when their living situation is no longer healthy or sustainable.
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When housing, energy bills, transportation, grocery prices, and child care costs rise at the same time, even couples who know a relationship is over may feel unable to move forward.
Where can I learn more?
These stories look at rising housing prices, lower-cost living arrangements, and insurance expenses that keep climbing:
• Across online forums, costly trends in housing are leaving would-be buyers feeling priced out.
• Car insurance rates rise as climate-fueled disasters make claims more expensive.
• In California, a young couple used a $2,500 mobile investment to carve out affordable housing.
• After their children moved out, empty nesters found no-mortgage housing in a shift to "tiny" living.
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