Read our latest newsletter here:

Dear friends of Marriage Foundation,

Last month’s release of the latest 2025 data on Families and Households from the Office for National Statistics passed with barely a mention in the media.

At first glance, it’s easy to see why. Over the past decade, the structure of Britain’s families appears remarkably stable: married households have edged up to 61%; cohabiting households have edged down to 15%; and lone parent households have fallen marginally to 23%.

But beneath these apparently unremarkable figures lies a profound social change to which we have become dangerously complacent.

Today, nearly half of all teenagers are no longer living with both natural parents, around five times higher than when I was growing up in the 1970s.

The human cost is immense: broken relationships, broken dreams, and poorer outcomes for many adults and children alike. The financial cost is enormous too, as more parents struggle to raise children alone.

Yet we continue to ignore the biggest driver of family breakdown: the long-term retreat from marriage.

That is why I am looking forward to launching my PhD findings next month, on Monday 15 June. My thesis research offers robust new evidence that marriage matters far more than many previous studies have suggested, and helps explain why family stability has weakened as marriage has declined.

Thank you, as ever, to our supporters. Here’s how you can help us champion marriage.

Dr Harry Benson
Research Director, Marriage Foundation