Did the Divorce Rate Really Drop During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

 Posted on July 13,2021 in Divorce

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on many areas of our lives. The lockdowns people across the country had to deal with and the inability to visit and spend time with loved ones led to many people re-evaluating their lives and changing what should and should not be priorities. Initially, statistics showed that the divorce rate was dropping during the first several months of the pandemic. It was thought that the forced lockdowns were bringing many couples closer together instead of driving them apart.

Fifteen months later, however, new statistics are showing that may have been a misconception as the divorce rate begins climbing upwards again.

Initial Drop in Divorce

There are many reasons the divorce rate may have dropped during the height of the pandemic and lockdowns. While some couples may have become closer, for others, being isolated at home with a spouse during the pandemic ended up putting a keener focus on marital issues a couple had that they may have been unaware of or chose to ignore.

There is also the possibility that for many couples, the financial uncertainty a lot of people were experiencing may have played a large role in putting the brakes on divorce. With so many businesses shut down and laying off employees, the thought of going from two incomes to one or potentially spending thousands on a divorce action caused many couples to hold off on ending their marriage.

Health issues may have also led to some couples staying together during the pandemic. If a spouse had underlying health issues, or if they were one of the many people who caught the virus and suffered from long-term effects, living alone during a pandemic can be a scary prospect.

Now that life has begun to regain normalcy, many of these same people are heading to their Illinois divorce lawyer’s office. One type of divorce that is really seeing an increase is gray divorces.

Gray divorce is a term used to describe the divorce of people who are 50 years of age or older. While the divorce rate has decreased over the past several years for younger Americans, it has more than doubled for those 50 or over. For older couples still together, the pandemic and lockdown experience caused many to really examine the state of their marriage and their own satisfaction, realizing just how much stress and contention exists in the relationship. Many have come out of the pandemic committed to or seriously considering ending their long-term marriages.

Let a Kane County Divorce Lawyer Help Through the Divorce Process

If you are considering ending your marriage – or have already come to that decision, you may want to speak with a skilled Aurora divorce attorney to find out what the best legal options are for your situation. Contact the Law Office of Matthew M. Williams, P.C. at 630-409-8184 to schedule a confidential consultation.

Source:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-05/divorces-and-marriages-tumbled-in-u-s-during-covid-study-shows