Getting married on Valentine’s Day may seem like the most romantic gesture a couple in love can make to each other. What better day than to demonstrate the ultimate act of commitment —marriage — on the one day of the year where you are encouraged to show the world how much you love your significant other?
But before you book a spot to marry on next year’s Valentine’s Day, there are some interesting tidbits you might want to consider. Researchers at Australia’s University of Melbourne have found that couple who marry on Feb. 14 as well as other holidays and gimmicky dates are more likely to split than couples who marry on ordinary days of the year.
The study, published in media reports last year, revealed that between 1995 and 2013, Valentine’s Day was the ninth most popular day to marry among engaged couples. Researchers learned that 11 percent of those couples were estimated to have divorced by their fifth anniversary, compared to eight percent of those who married on regular days. Twenty-one percent of those Valentine’s Day unions had dissolved by the couple’s ninth anniversaries, compared to 16 percent of ordinary-day marriages.
Did you get married on Valentine’s Day, 2017? If so, your marriage may not be doomed, especially if you and your new spouse have been together for a significant amount of time, if one of you isn’t pregnant or if it’s the first marriage for you both. The Melbourne scientists had found that the couples in their study had less in common, didn’t know each other well, and were likely to have been married before as well has had children from a previous relationship. Brides who married on Valentine’s Day also were more likely to have been pregnant than those who married on a regular day.
There is more good news. The U.S. divorce rate is the lowest it’s been in 40 years. The marriage rate, meanwhile, is at a high. So maybe there’s hope for true love every single day — not just Valentine’s Day.
The experienced family law attorneys at the DiPietro Family Law Group have decades of experience handling all types of family law matters and are here to help you.
Contact one of the DiPietro family law attorneys today to schedule a consultation with a caring professional at (888) 530-4374.