More than half of couples consider staying together for the sake of the finances

More than half of couples would consider staying together for the sake of the finances, with only 40% of people stating that they would never stay in a bad relationship for financial reasons, according to research by Opinium for Hargreaves Lansdown.

The first Monday back to work after Christmas has been dubbed ‘Divorce Day,’ because there tends to be a surge of enquiries with divorce lawyers. The data also showed that 23% of people said they would consider staying in a bad relationship if they were unsure how they could afford to live on their own. 18% said they might stay together if they couldn’t afford the break up itself whilst 16% said they would consider staying together if they didn’t want to sell the home they shared.

A further 14% said they might stay together because otherwise they’d be afraid of getting into debt, whilst 14% could stay in the relationship because unwinding their lives would be too complicated.

Sarah Coles, Head of Personal Finance at Hargreaves Lansdown said “The idea of people rushing to divorce after one horrible Christmas is nonsense. However, there’s anecdotal evidence that more people will make early enquiries when they return to work after Christmas on so-called Divorce Day.

“This is likely to be the culmination of a huge period where things have been going off track and couples have been trying to work things out. In some cases, even where the relationship seems irrevocably broken, couples will try to hang on for other reasons – including money. Only 40% of people said they would definitely leave a bad relationship if they were worried about the financial issues involved in splitting up.

“As the cost of living has risen, money is weighing particularly heavily on couples. The days of double-digit inflation may be over, but the cumulative effect of higher inflation over this kind of period has taken a toll. To buy what would have cost £100 in 2020 would cost you more than £128 today, and not everyone has been lucky enough to have had pay rises to keep pace. Couples who are getting by while they are together might struggle to see how they could manage alone. Almost one in four said it would tempt them to stay in a bad relationship.

“Men were far less likely to say they would stay together because they didn’t know how they could afford single life (19% compared to 27% of women). Some of this comes down to the maths, because on average men are on larger incomes, and are therefore more able to stomach the singles tax of living alone. Some of this may also come down to the fact that women are still more likely to have the lion’s share of caring responsibilities, so if they have children, they couldn’t imagine being able to balance looking after the children with earning enough money to keep the wolf from the door. This could be one reason why those in the over-stretched middle of life, aged 35 to 54, are most likely to say they would stay together because they don’t know how they would afford to live alone – at 27% (compared to 23% overall). The process of splitting up can also be more complicated and expensive when you have built a life together, and have joint responsibilities.

“This is part of the reason why people aged 35 to 54 are also more likely to say they would stay because they couldn’t afford the break up itself (22% compared to 18% overall). Parents with children living at home are also more likely to stay – with only 27% of them saying they would leave regardless of any financial issues.

“When you’ve built a financial life together, people are also overwhelmed at the thought of having to start again. Younger people (aged 18-34) are more likely to say they would stay together because they don’t want to lose their shared home (20% compared to 16% overall). For those who have just bought a property together, it’s understandable why the thought of losing their home would be particularly distressing – after all that work.

“Those aged 55 and over were less likely to stay for any financial reason, and 53% said no money worries could make them stay in a bad relationship. This might be because of the experience they have under their belt, or because more of them have found their life partner, so can’t imagine staying with the wrong person. However, even among this group, 21% said they would stay because of the fear of not being able to afford to live alone.”