divorce ( Archived) (7)

Here in the US it's not a big deal. It happens on a daily basis.

It seems that the more solitary religious countries frown upon it more.

Sorry you're having to go through that

They used to though Claire - my dads generation were apalled by divorce and it was also a lot more difficult to get one - there was a terrible social stigma to divorce even when I was a child, it was so bad in fact that people would move to a completely new area or have to lie - I just found some facts;

First marriages have halved since 1970 whereas re-marriages have doubled

Compared to the 1950s, there are now 25% fewer marriages but 5 times as many divorces every year

Compared to the 1950s, marriage rates are now 40-50% lower


Divorce rates have been steady since 1980 but 6 times higher than they were in the 1950s


The married population has declined steadily since 1950. The unmarried population has risen fast since 1970

Historically, women rarely separated from men because so few, whether rich or poor, could survive financially and the social stigma was extreme: divorce remained rare until the late-twentieth century. Between 1670 and 1857 there were only 325 divorces recorded in England, and all but four were initiated by men. Divorce was allowed in the civil courts from 1857 and numbers increased but the cost remained prohibitive for many until the introduction of legal aid for divorce in 1950 and no-fault divorce in 1969. To avoid these costs, couples often agreed to separate informally, though many men simply abandoned their partners.

taken from; historyandpolicy.org