Different pages: Unmarried parents in lockdown
Most cohabiting dads did pretty well during lockdown. Many of their partners did not. One of the more striking findings from our analysis of relationships during lockdown is the way unmarried mums and dads appear to have experienced it very differently. My colleague Professor Steve McKay and I compared what 386 cohabiting parents said about […]
Divorce boom? No chance
According to media reports, marriages are cracking under the strain of lockdown and divorce rates are soaring. In August, Mailonline reported a divorce boom in the US. In September BBC news reported a divorce boom in the UK. Read between the lines though and you should start to smell a rat. Mailonline’s US claim was […]
Why did so many cohabiting mums have relationship problems during lockdown?
Our new research shows that 20% of parent relationships improved, 70% stayed the same, and 10% worsened during lockdown. But cohabiting mums have struggled far more than anybody. Why? There’s been a huge amount of speculation about what lockdown has done to relationships. The media have talked up a supposed boom in divorce rates. There’s […]
The future of marriage post-covid
Marriage rates will more than rebound after lockdown ends as couple reevaluate their lives. But will this be the start of a new uptrend? Marriage rates in the UK are currently at close to zero. When the government banned weddings as part of the lockdown measures, they may have meant just to ban gatherings. But, […]
Living with uncertainty
Now that we’re a few weeks into lockdown, I’ve been thinking a lot about how this pandemic might be affecting the way we do relationships now and in the future. For example, Is lockdown causing a surge in domestic violence and divorce as some are suggesting? Or are couples hankering down and even enjoying their […]
In banning weddings, government has unintentionally banned marriages
Several people have written to me to ask how they can get married. Under the new coronavirus law, weddings are banned. As a result, churches and civil registrars have both closed their doors. We appear to have lost our right to marry. Societies throughout history have given special legal privileges to those who marry. In […]