A couple’s age when they get married plays a big role in whether or not they will get divorced. They don’t know it at the time, of course. That divorce isn’t based on anything that happens on their wedding day, and it may be decades in their future.
But what researchers have found is that getting married below age 32 means you have an increased risk of divorce. Specifically, when looking at couples who get married at 18 and those who wait until 32, there is a 12% reduction in divorce odds for every year that the couple waits. Getting married at 18 carries the greatest risk, while it is slightly smaller at 21 and much smaller at 31.
However, the trend does reverse itself after age 32. The divorce odds then go up by about 5% each year. So a couple that gets married at 35 would technically have higher divorce odds then if they had gotten married three years earlier.
Why do young marriages have such a high divorce rate?
There are a variety of reasons why young marriages tend to be less stable. Sometimes it comes down to financial security, as the couple may have trouble simply getting jobs and making ends meet. If they’re getting married because they’re having a child together, it can be very stressful to suddenly start trying to raise a family at such a young age. Additionally, many young people just grow apart as they get older. They may have been compatible as a couple in high school, but marriage in their 20s and 30s no longer makes sense.
Regardless of the reason, the divorce process can be complicated. It’s important for couples to understand all of their legal options.
