The divorce rate in America reached it’s peak and people started to say that about 50% of marriages ended in divorce. The statistics around divorce continued to shock many Americans who stood for the institute of marriage. As it turns out, most people can’t stick it out for better or worse til death do them part. Instead they stick around until something happens that makes them feel unloved and that’s why 50% of marriages end in divorce.
In earlier years marriage happened young and fast, sometimes even arranged. These days marriage isn’t exactly what it was just 10 years ago. The institution of marriage was a big part of living the American dream, when a married couple could afford to live comfortable life. However as the cost of living increases and wages become stagnant, marriage and the divorce rate are taking a hit.
Which means that not 50% of marriages end in divorce anymore. According to statistics, the divorce rate has steadily declined since 2008. In 2016, it was nearly 20% lower than it was before. What is keeping 50% of marriages from ending in divorce? It isn’t love – and what it is may surprise you.
Do 50% of marriages end in divorce?
Apparently, not any longer. According to reports it isn’t because people are staying together longer but instead because people are not getting married. News outlets (and everyone else) blame the Millennials for the decline. According to them, young people aren’t getting married and that is why the divorce rate is down. In addition to that, those who are getting married seem to be waiting longer and living together beforehand. Perhaps this “non-traditional” practice is actually saving the traditional nature of marriage…
But many of those Millienials would tell you it isn’t by choice. Many of them don’t have the stability or the means to get married let alone contribute to 50% percent of marriages ending in divorce. Many co-habitate not because they choose to, but because they have to in order to afford rent and food. Since most are strapped with thousands of dollars in student debt, they don’t have money to save for a wedding, buy a home or even pay for a car to get to a from work. That is if they can find work.
Money is a big reason marriages end in divorce and why they don’t get started
Back when marriage happened right out of high school and lasted for 50 years, a family could be provided for and stable on just one single income. These days affording a family means working extra hours and paying for extra childcare. Those reasons alone have been enough to keep Millennials from getting married, but some also say marriage itself isn’t what is cracked up to.
Some Millenials aren’t married and don’t plan to get married. Many in their generation don’t think that the benefits of marriage are worth the hassle. Marriage means binding yourself to your partner, legally, and in most states it also binds together two people financially. It seems folks are wising up and choosing to protect themselves before choosing to get married. Some even say that marriage is just a paper and means very little to them.
Thanks to Millenials, their debt and their view of marriage, it is no longer true that 50% of marriages end in divorce.
