Divorce is a part of modern life. A moderate percentage of all marriages end in divorce rather than with the death of one or both spouses. Those who’ve recently got engaged are often eager to imagine themselves as immune from the pressures that often lead to divorce. However, a large percentage of those that eventually file for divorce got married in good faith and hoped to spend the rest of their life with their spouse.
What drives people to divorce can be vastly different from case to case, but there are certain causes that seem to play a role in far more divorces than other, more unique issues.
Lack of true commitment
Although people may marry while hoping to spend their life with another person, they may not truly consider what that means. New couples may avoid unpleasant conversations about personal beliefs and dreams for the future, only to find out not long afterward that they may not actually be compatible with each other. Those who don’t consider the implications of committing to someone regardless of their bad behavior, financial circumstances or health may eventually come to regret their decision. A majority of those discussing why their divorce occurred indicated that a lack of commitment on the part of one or both spouses directly played a role in their divorce occurring.
Infidelity
A significant percentage of divorces are the result of someone choosing to violate their vows of fidelity to their spouse. Sexual infidelity is the most common reason that people divorce, with extramarital affairs sometimes leading to pregnancy outside of the marriage or sexually transmitted infections for a spouse who thought they were in a monogamous relationship. There is also emotional infidelity, which involves connecting and bonding with someone other than a spouse, as well as financial infidelity, which involves intentionally lying about or misrepresenting one’s financial circumstances. These behaviors might also breach the foundation of trust so crucial to a healthy marriage and eventually lead to divorce.
Domestic violence
Almost one in four divorces may be the result of domestic abuse according to self-reported information. Physical abuse is obviously a major concern for interpersonal safety, but people have also become better able to recognize emotional and financial abuse in recent years and are less likely to tolerate someone mistreating them in their closest relationship.
Plenty of other people divorce because they grow apart from their spouse or have other challenges that seem insurmountable. Recognizing that one’s situation overlaps with the leading cause of divorce might help someone feel more confident about pursuing their happiness moving forward.