Why Marriage is different for Millennials

Divorce has evolved quite a bit in the last couple of years, we’ve had the on-going fight for No-Fault Divorce which is to come into effect in 2021 and as the world continues to live through a pandemic, many couples are undecided as to whether divorce is worth going through at all.

Rates of Marriage

If you dig deep enough, you’ll find there is a big generation gap between Millennials and their parents when it comes to marriage. Statistics taken from 2017 show that not only was there a 2.8% decrease in marriages in England and Wales but only 22% of all marriages were religious ceremonies.

Although it doesn’t specify the exact age of all these marriages, it does provide the average age, which was 38 for men and 35 for women.

These few stats alone tell a clear story of how not only are there less people getting married but the traditional route is also less popular, a clear tell-tale sign on how modern relationships are changing.

The bigger picture

If you’re wondering why these numbers are at its lowest over the past 40 years, especially for first marriages, we need to look at the bigger picture. Although the number naturally fluctuates, the average cost for a wedding in the UK would set you back around £16,000, which for many millennials is a deposit on their first home.

Housing is another situation many individuals have to deal and think about daily, especially if they’re looking to purchase their first home with their partner, which gives good reason as to why marriage may be put off for later in life when many couples are settled.

However, owning a house and booking a wedding requires money, something which puts strain on many couples who are still climbing the career ladder, in order to buy their first property and enjoy the wedding they’ve always dreamed of.

A simple Google search will show you that the rates of home ownership has changed over time, where once a property would sell on average for around £98,000 in the early 1990’s, you can now expect to find the average price of properties to be over £200,000.

Rise of Cohabitation

Another factor to include into the mix is that many couples cohabitate before they get married, 88% in-fact live together before tying the knot. Many other generations may share their experience of marrying and then moving in together or vice versa, but they would have coincided very closely together.

Nowadays, many millennial couples are living together without being married for much longer and even starting families during this time period. This type of lifestyle has pushed the accessibility of Civil Partnerships for opposite-sex couples.

Finances and Prenups

Buying a property and booking a wedding is one thing, but something that has caught the attention of many headlines in the fact that more couples in the millennial generation are getting prenups and not just in the UK but in other countries too, such as the US, where assets and finance are valuable and people want to protect their wealth.