People shunning marriage as they prioritise property and children

Less than half of adults are in a marriage or civil partnership, official data has shown for the first time.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that the proportion of people aged 16 or older who are married or in a civil partnership was 50.6 per cent in 2020 but dipped to 49.7 per cent in 2021 before dropping even further to 49.4 in 2022.

Family lawyers said the figures – based on population estimates by marital status and living arrangements in England and Wales in 2021 and 2022 – were indicative of adults wanting to wait longer before marrying and prioritising property purchases and raising children instead.

David Thompson, family partner at Seddons, said: “Despite the divorces and travails of famous people, most people – perhaps surprisingly – still want to marry. If anything, people are waiting longer to get married.”

Less than 3.5 per cent of the population in matrimonial or civil partnerships in 2022 were under the age of 30.

Mr Thompson added: “People put off settling down for longer, looking at settling instead for when the time is right; big decisions like the cost of buying a house and bringing up children push weddings down the list until the couples can afford it.

“The success of a marriage seems to be linked to the cost inversely: the more lavish the wedding, the more likely the couple will divorce.”

First time marriage drops below 50pc

The ONS said that comparable records go back to 2002 while other data going back to 1972 that is not directly comparable, also shows the percentage of married people had previously never dropped below 50 per cent.

Meanwhile, the proportion of couples who are not married or in a civil partnership but are already living together rose to more than a fifth – from 19.7 per cent in 2012 to 22.7 per cent in 2022, which is equivalent to 5.4 million people in 2012 and 6.8 million people in 2022.

Legal experts warned that the statistics suggest that laws in this area needed to be updated and were “crying out for reform”.

David Lillywhite, partner at Burgess Mee Family Law, said: “Unfortunately, many couples still believe that simply by living with their partner they will automatically be entitled to a share of the other’s wealth or receive financial support from them when the relationship breaks down. The reality is very different and can often come as something of a shock.

“This area of law is crying out for reform, which could include the ability for cohabitees to apply for maintenance for a limited period to adjust for the loss of financial support; an opt-out right for eligible cohabitees for financial remedy orders like married couples and civil partners; and a right for cohabitees to inherit under the intestacy rules and be treated the same way as married couples for tax purposes.”

Last year the Government announced it would review laws governing how a couple’s finances are divided after a divorce, enlisting the Law Commission to analyse how the 50-year-old laws work in practice.

However, Sital Fontenelle, head of Kingsley Napley’s family and divorce practice, said protections for cohabitees, who currently have “limited rights”, must be considered.

She said: “It’s all very well to have started a review of the Matrimonial Causes Act and how finances are divided between separating spouses on divorce, but if marriage is going out of fashion, then the rights of cohabitees and greater protection for their families should be addressed.

“If marriage is no longer the default for modern families, our laws should be updated to reflect that.”

Doubling of civil partnerships

The ONS said that while people in civil partnerships still account for a small proportion of those in a legal partnership, estimates for civil partnerships have almost doubled over the last decade, from 120,000 in 2012 to 222,000 in 2022.

This period covers the introduction of opposite-sex civil partnerships from the end of 2019.

Same-sex marriages have increased, with the estimated number of people in these marriages at 167,000 in 2022, up from 26,000 in 2015.

Of these, males accounted for around six in 10 – or 61.2 per cent – while females accounted for around four in 10.

Overall, 99.3 per cent of married people were married to someone of the opposite sex.

The Marriage Foundation said the continued trend away from marriage was “bad news for couples and bad news for children”.

Harry Benson, its research director, said: “Marriage may not be a panacea but it stacks the odds in favour of stable families. Most young adults want to marry at some stage.

“Yet this trend shows we are making it hard for them. Welfare policies make it especially punitive for the lowest earners to marry. It’s nearly a decade since any Cabinet minister made any speech or comment on marriage. Maybe these figures will prompt them.”