Marriages now last 13 years before divorce, ONS finds

New ONS data shows couples in England and Wales who divorced in 2025 had been married for an average of 13.0 years, the longest on record. Divorce totals stayed flat at 105,002, while no-fault divorce accounted for most cases.

Why it matters: - The latest figures point to longer marriages ending later in life, which can mean bigger financial and family decisions around homes, pensions and children. - Divorce volumes are stable, but the profile of divorce is shifting toward longer relationships and more complex settlements.

What happened: - The Office for National Statistics published new data on 23 September 2026 covering divorces and dissolutions in England and Wales for 2024 and 2025. - Couples who divorced in 2025 had been married for an average of 13.0 years, the longest since records began in 1963. - There were 105,002 divorces in 2025. - The divorce rate for opposite-sex couples was 8.4 per 1,000 married people, unchanged from 2023 and 2024.

The details: - The average length of marriage at divorce has risen steadily from 8.9 years in 1985. - The 2025 divorce rate remains well below the 1993 peak of 14.2 per 1,000 married people. - Around one in four opposite-sex divorces in 2025, or 26.4%, ended a marriage that lasted at least 20 years. - A total of 8,727 divorces ended marriages of 30 years or more, up 10% from 7,930 in 2015. - Among couples who married in 2015, an estimated 16.3% had divorced before their 10th wedding anniversary. - Among couples who married in 1995, that share was 24.7%. - In 2025, 94.2% of divorces and civil partnership dissolutions were granted under the no-fault law introduced in April 2022. - Of those no-fault cases, 74.1% were sole applications and 25.9% were joint applications. - Among opposite-sex couples making sole applications, women accounted for 61.2% and men for 35.6%. - Mediate UK published a breakdown of the ONS tables and said the full figures include marriage length, divorce rates and ONS marriage cohort findings on its UK divorce statistics page. - Mediate UK also points couples to guidance on pensions on divorce and financial settlement on divorce. - The figures cover England and Wales only, and Scotland and Northern Ireland publish separate divorce statistics.

Between the lines: - The rise in average marriage length at divorce suggests more couples are separating after building more shared assets and responsibilities. - No-fault divorce has simplified the legal route, but the data show many cases still begin with one person applying alone. - The legal end of a marriage does not resolve money or child arrangements, which can prolong the practical fallout.

What's next: - The trend toward later divorces will likely keep pushing more couples into financial and pension planning questions. - Scotland and Northern Ireland will continue to report their own divorce data, limiting direct UK-wide comparisons.

The bottom line: - England and Wales are seeing fewer changes in divorce volume, but marriages are lasting longer before they end.