What Are The Common Reasons For Divorce In The U.S.?

By Gerald A. Maggio, Esq.

Divorce mediators Orange County; California Divorce Mediators50% of all marriages ending in divorce in the United States is, unfortunately, a fact. Differences in income levels, personalities, education and physical appearances are just some of the many reasons why so many couples are getting divorced in the U.S. and experts and therapists say that these reasons are very trivial especially after having spent so many years of their lives together.

Divorce statistics in the United States 

No doubt the rate of divorce has been significantly increasing since the 1990’s especially after divorces could be settled out of court and child support and alimony was introduced by states in the U.S. Couples didn’t feel the need to stay married to each other with all the benefits being offered to them by the state governments.

Now, the average length of a happy marriage in the U.S. is claimed to be only a shocking 11 years. According to a recent and interesting study conducted by the American Law and Economics Review Board, a little more than two-thirds of divorces in the U.S. are filed by women. Even though the rate differs slightly from state to state, by the end of the 20th century, 70% of women in most states were the ones filing for a divorce.

Common reasons for divorce in the United States 

Marriage therapists and counselors in the U.S. say that shockingly enough the main reasons why so many couples are getting divorced so fast is due to the simplest and most futile reasons. The most common ones are –

  1. Society – the number 1 reason for divorce in the United States is either one party getting married for the wrong reasons such as money or because they thought they had to get married before reaching a certain age.
  1. Lack of individuality – ‘couple dumb’ is a syndrome where either the man or the woman are incapable of doing anything interesting without the other person around. Having their own interests and the freedom to express themselves and involve themselves in their own hobbies, likes, interests, etc. is vital in order to maintain a sense of individuality and enjoy their own personalities.
  1. Financial dependency or difference in incomes – when one partner becomes financially dependent on the other is when problems start to arise as the other partner automatically begins to call all the shots when it comes to how and when to spend money. Major differences in incomes earned by husband and wife can also be grounds for calling it quits as whoever is earning more tends to stand on a pedestal in the relationship.

Other common reasons for divorce in the U.S. include either partner “changing” after marriage, unmet expectations, loss of intimacy, and forgetting your role in the relationship.

If parties have grown too far apart for whatever reason that remedying the problems of the marriage or reconciling, then divorce may unfortunately be the final outcome of the marriage.  If that is the situation, then divorce mediation is generally the better way to end your marriage without making the relationship even worse, especially when children are involved.

To learn more about the divorce process in California and how mediation can help, please visit our page, What is Divorce Mediation.