Married couples in the UK are being forced to save their relationships as the cost-of-living crisis has made divorce too expensive, new research shows.
Data gathered by Witan solicitors shows that there has been a 4.5 percent decrease in demand in Google searches for divorce lawyers from 2022 to 2023.
In contrast, there was a 10.6 percent increase in demand for searches for couples therapy in the past year.
Witan said these numbers suggest that “more and more couples are working on their marriages to avoid the cost of divorce”.
On average, an individual looking to get divorced can expect to pay £2,000 in solicitors fees, according to Moneyhelper.
Meanwhile, the cost of the average couples counselling session is only £70.
Qarrar Somji, director and solicitor-advocate at Witan Solicitors, said: “Money plays a big role when it comes to deciding whether to end a marriage.
“When the economy is good, it’s easier for people to get divorced because they can buy and sell homes quickly. But when things are tough, it becomes harder.
“Dealing with the cost of running two households can be pretty overwhelming. So, when things are not great between a couple, they might stick together.
“In some cases, people are choosing to spend money on counselling to save their marriages instead of going through costly divorces.
“Even though counselling has its own expenses, it can be more cost-effective for some in the long run. It helps couples work through their issues, communicate better, and find solutions to keep life ticking over as normal.”
Due to the heavy costs, the searches for divorce applications dropped by 36 percent in 2023 as couples affected by the cost-of-living crisis simply cannot afford to legally separate.
Since 2003, there has been an overall downward trend for divorce rates as cohabitation has become steadily more popular as an alternative to marriage, according to Crisp and Co.
Despite this general downward trend, there was an increase in divorce last year, rising by 9.6 percent to a total of 9,913.
