Marriages are lasting longer than ever, according to official divorce statistics released today – despite divorce being ‘more accessible than ever’. However, longer marriages potentially mean greater complexity, family lawyers warn.

Data published by the Office for National Statistics reveals that there were 105,961 legal partnership dissolutions in 2025, broadly similar to 2023 and 2024 but lower than peak levels in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, when there were around 150,000 divorces a year.

The average length of the marriage at divorce was 13 years for opposite-sex couples - the longest since the ONS’s data collection began in 1963. The ONS said record highs were also seen for same-sex civil partnerships - 13.7 years for male couples and 13.6 years for female couples.

Lisa Pepper, a specialist divorce lawyer at Osbornes Law, said: ‘Divorce is now more accessible than it ever has been in the past 60 years, yet these incredible figures show that couples are staying together for a record amount of time. You can start the guillotine of divorce by simply going online and logging into a portal, yet there is an amazing dichotomy in that marriages are lasting longer. This could show that marriage is alive and kicking, which is also illustrated by the number of couples signing prenups going through the roof.

‘The less romantic reason is likely to be that couples can’t afford to get divorced and face the financial hand grenade that it results in. Couples are more hesitant to get divorced and trying things like mediation or couples therapy before going for the nuclear option as the consequences are often perceived as worse than continuing with their marriage.’

The ONS said 16.3% of couples who married in 2015 had divorced by their 10th anniversary, compared with 24.7% who married in 1995.

Julian Ribet, partner and founder of Ribet Myles, said: 'While the reasons for this shift are likely to be varied, it suggests that early divorce is becoming less common among more recent marriage cohorts.'

Longer marriages potentially means greater complexity, Ribet added. ‘Couples may have spent more years building up property, pensions, savings and investments, meaning there can be considerably more to untangle when a relationship ends. It reinforces the importance of taking a holistic view of finances rather than treating divorce simply as the division of the most obvious assets.’

Samantha Woodham, a barrister at 4PB, said the move to no-fault divorce had simplified the divorce process. 'However, simplifying the divorce process does not simplify the financial separation that follows. The key questions remain how assets should be divided and how both parties can achieve financial security after the marriage ends. The earlier couples understand their full financial position and take focused legal advice, the better placed they are to reach a fair and workable outcome.'

Sital Fontenelle, head of the family and divorce team at Kingsley Napley, said: 'Our own view of the divorce market at the moment is that the prolonged uncertain economic outlook is meaning some couples are now just getting on with it and not delaying in the hope of a better financial situation ahead.

‘We are seeing more and more couples opting to resolve the division of their finances away from a court setting given the long delays in the family courts and many are achieving a resolution of finances based on pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements. Recorded divorces are also typically happening later and after longer marriages with the so-called silver splitter cohort being a very real trend.’