Online Niche Market Research

							Strictly embargoed 00.01, 8 January 2007

    Monday 8th January is Britain’s D-Day (Divorce Day) – more people embarking on the road to
                                 divorce today than any other day of the year.
                    New research reveals state of marriage and divorce in 2007 Britain

     One in five couples in Britain are on the verge of a break up & millions more trapped in unhappy marriages
     Sex, infidelity, falling out of love and abuse are the primary reason for divorce in Britain
     One in five women cite a serious incident of abuse as the reason for relationship breakdown
     One in three men currently bored with their wife and marriage
     Average length of marriage before it hits the rocks is seven years, three months
     Worst example of divorce is Mills-McCartney and best is Fergie and Prince Andrew


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Monday 8 January 2007…Today kick-starts the week when Britain‟s divorce lawyers receive more enquiries
from people contemplating a divorce than at any other time throughout the year, according to research
conducted by new divorce website insidedivorce.com*.


One of the UK‟s leading divorce lawyers, James Stewart from Manches LLP, backs up this point: “A stressful
Christmas can often be the final nail in the marital coffin. Extra time together can force problems that already
exist in the relationship to come to a head. We are expecting this to be our busiest day and indeed our busiest
week.”

According to Relate, the UK‟s largest provider of relationship support in the UK, the trend to kick-start the
divorce process in January correlates with the surge (up to 50% higher than any other time of the year) in the
number of calls its centres receive over the festive period.


An independent research report, Marriage and Divorce in 2007 Britain**, commissioned to coincide with the
launch of the UK‟s most comprehensive divorce website insidedivorce.com gives the inside track on
relationships.


The research takes an in-depth look at modern love – the social, economic, sexual and psychological ups and
downs that make and break Britain‟s relationships. It questioned over 2,000 married, divorced and separated
people living in the UK. A separate report questioned 350 children.


    The current state of the British marriage


The research reveals that nearly one in five marriages (19%) are on shaky ground and could be heading for the
divorce courts. Nearly half (44%) of those surveyed say that their sex lives have decreased and a further one in
ten married couples are having no sex at all. These figures are particularly worrying for men at least, with „lack



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of sex‟ being cited as the single biggest factor in relationship breakdown. The research also confirms that
having an affair is a common problem leading to the breakdown of a marriage.


The report highlights that money is a major cause of arguments for one in three couples.


Commenting on the findings, Editor of insidedivorce.com Faye Rowe, says: “These findings paint a bleak
picture of the British institution of marriage and suggest that divorce rates will not be falling dramatically in the
future. It is worrying that sex – not having it or having it with someone other than your partner – is the main
catalyst for divorce. It suggests that we are no longer satisified with having one partner for life.”


Divorce


Insidedivorce.com wanted to understand what signifies the tipping point for British marriages. Over one in four
people (27%) say that discovering their partner was having an affair was a defining moment which signalled the
end of their marriage. In terms of how they discovered their partner‟s infidelity, over half of all partners (54%)
discovered the affair themselves, one in five partners confessed, four per cent were told by the „other
woman/man‟ and one in every 100 simply got a text or letter.


Falling out of love is the second most popular reason why one in five (22%) marriages end today, and this is a
more common reason for women (22%) rather than men (18%).


However, a staggering one in six (15.9%) women and 6 per cent of men cite a serious incident of abuse as
the reason for relationship breakdown. Forty per cent of women claim physical and mental abuse as a problem
during their marriage and one in four females (24.5%) say that they have encountered drug and alcohol abuse
in their relationship before its end.


Commenting on the report, Paula Hall, a relationship psychotherapist at Relate said: "Relationship breakdown is
complex and the damage has often been done over many years of either unresolved conflict or distance. With
the exception of abuse, the reasons cited in this report are common symptoms of a relationship in jeopardy.”


Hall added that none of the issues bar abuse need be insurmountable: “If couples have sufficient motivation and
commitment to focus on the good things that got them together in the first place.”


Relationship meltdown


The report looked at the more complex factors involved in relationship meltdown, or put simply, problems that
occurred in their marriage but were not „the straw that broke the camel‟s back‟.




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Top of the list was partner infidelity cited by 42% of people. Over a third (34%) cited abuse with a heavy
weighting towards females 40% vs. 15%. And almost a third (29%) of all the people interviewed said they were
bored in their relationships.


Sex, or lack of it, was a key problem highlighted by over a fifth (22%) of respondents, alongside financial
disagreements and alcohol/drug abuse. The single biggest response from males (36%) was lack of sex and
men were more likely to be unfaithful, develop drink, drug or gambling problems or simply get bored.

The top 10 reasons for relationship failure are:
1.    Partner‟s infidelity
2.    Abuse
3.    Boredom
4.    Lack of sex
5.    Financial disagreements
6.    Alcohol/drug abuse
7.    Debt
8.    Their career took priority
9.    Hobbies (e.g. football)
10.   Own infidelity

The research also confirms that the infamous „seven year itch’ is a reality with British couples being married for
an average of seven years and three months before they realised things were not working.               However, it
appears that once couples pass their tenth wedding anniversary, it is likely that the marriage will survive.
Surprisingly, even before they officially got married, one in four divorcees now admit that they had doubts before
they walked down the aisle and said „I do‟.


Where do people turn to when facing the end of marriage and divorce?


According to the research, over half (58%) of people revealed that the first person they turned to when
considering divorce was a friend or family member (usually mother). This compares to over a third who went for
the most professional route and turned to a solicitor (45% of men compared to 28% women).


Just over a fifth (21.6%) of respondents chose their solicitor through the phone directory or went direct to the
solicitor who did their house purchase regardless of the specialisation! Four in ten prospective divorcees chose
their legal representative via a personal recommendation.


Pre-nuptial agreements are still the preserve of celebrities with only one per cent of people who are divorced or
separated having one in place prior to tying the knot. However, over a fifth (20.9%) now say (in hindsight) that
they regret this decision given that sorting out joint finances is now part of most divorce deals.




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James Stewart of Manches states that whilst not strictly binding in England and Wales, pre-nups have huge
evidential value. “They are now normal in large asset cases and are slowly percolating downwards. In my view
they should be on the wedding “to-do” list, right under buying the ring and booking the honeymoon.”


He said that pre-nups were increasingly popular with the international ultra-rich, including the fast growing
Russian jetset, who relocate to England to take advantage of the favourable tax regime which, on the
downside, is matched by one of the most generous divorce jurisdictions in the world for women in “big money”
cases.


Commenting on the launch of insidedivorce.com, Faye Rowe said: “With figures showing that one in two
British couples currently end up in the divorce courts we believe that the time is right to launch this website. We
saw a gap in the market for a service where people could seek advice on both the emotional and practical
aspects of relationship breakdown. Insidedivorce.com brings together a range of leading experts in finance,
law, property, children and wellbeing. Our aim is to help people save a troubled relationship or, if that‟s not
possible, help them get the best out of the divorce process and make a fresh start.”


But it‟s not all doom and gloom, Rowe says. “Despite the financial and emotional trauma we are still a nation of
romantics at heart. Seventy per cent of divorced people still believe that there is a perfect man or woman out
there.”


A child’s eye view of divorce


The research also details a series of interviews with over 300 children of divorced parents aged between 10 and
15 years old. It explored their own attitudes towards divorce, its impact on them, and their view of the inevitable
lifestyle changes which followed their parent‟s divorce. Findings include:


         80% of children of divorced parents consider themselves to be “quite happy” or “very happy”.
         Children say “don‟t stay together for our sake” as over 60% say it is better for parents who argue to split
          up.
         80% of children of divorced parents say their home life is the same or better after divorce.
         Just 28% of children of divorced parents want them to get back together.
         The biggest benefit of a break-up for children is an end to arguments.
         The greatest impact of divorce on children is a sense of helplessness and pressure to take sides.
         The worst drawback is continuing arguments between parents over the time they spent with their
          children and the need to travel between two homes.
         Few children – just 13% - object to their parents finding someone new after divorce.
         70% of children of divorced parents say a definite “yes” to wedding bells at some point in their lives.
                                                      …Ends….



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Note to editors:


insidedivorce.com is a new Website for those experiencing relationship breakdown, divorce and moving on
and is launched today January 8th 2007.

insidedivorce.com provides day to day information on a variety of legal, financial and lifestyle issues relevant
to those finding themselves in relationship difficulties. The site will offer a forum for people experiencing similar
problems the opportunity to talk to each other. Insidedivorce.com has been launched by independent
publishers Polyview Media Ltd. and the team that previously ran The Lawyer magazine and founded the multi
award winning business publication Legal Week and other ground breaking innovations. Winner PPA Business
Magazine of the year, Winner IPAC most innovative Route to Market, Winner PPA Acheivement Award and
Winner EBITM Events Award.

* insidedivorce.com interviewed over 100 divorce law firms in the UK as to their busiest period for divorce

**The research for insidedivorce.com was carried out online by Tickbox.net during December 2006 amongst a
nationally representative sample of 341 children. Tickbox.net is a leading market research organisation, carrying
out consumer, corporate and niche market surveys online amongst a 50,000+ member panel. Tickbox.net is a
member of the BMRA (British Market Research Association), follows the codes of the MRS (Market Research
Society) and are fully registered and compliant with the Data Protection Registrar, as well as being the preferred
research supplier of the PRCA (Public Relations Consultants Association).

For more information:
McGrory Communications
Geraldine McGrory                                                                0207 609 2081/07870657531




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