If you ask most people when they get married for the first time, they’ll never expect to divorce. Marriage is seen as a lifetime commitment, but it is also a relationship that can be influenced by a number of different factors. The other spouse might cheat. Sometimes people just leave and never come back. Divorce can happen for a wide variety of reasons.
Facts About Second Marriages and Divorce
1. Women will initiate about 2 out of every 3 divorces.
2. Since the 1980s, the divorce rates in the United States have been steadily decreasing.
3. About 67-80% of second marriages end in divorce.
4. If a divorce proceeding can go smoothly and both parties can amicably agree, then the cost of it can be less than $1,000.
5. The United States has the 6th highest rate of divorce in the world.
6. After a first marriage, it generally takes someone about 4 years before getting married a second time.
7. 2 out of 3 marriages will make it to their 10th anniversary, but only 1 out of 3 marriages will make it to their 25th anniversary.
8. The 5 states with the highest divorce rate are: Alaska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky and Alabama.
9. 57% of attorneys say that divorces are less likely to happen when there is a recession going on with the economy.
10. The percentage of couples who will choose a long-term separation of at least 10 years instead of a divorce: 15%.
11. 85% of people with a Bachelor’s degree and are married for the second time will make it to their 10th anniversary.
12. Age matters. Couples that are above the age of 25 are the least likely to get divorced after any marriage.
13. The failure of a second marriage is more likely for women under age 25 at remarriage [47%] than for women at least age 25 at remarriage [34%].
14. Women who grew up in a two-parent family are less likely to divorce a second time [33%] than women who came from a blended family or single family [49%].
15. For women who feel like they are being forced to have sex, their chances of experiencing a second divorce are 25% higher. For Caucasian women, the risk increases to 33%.
16. A second marriage with a spouse who suffers from a general anxiety disorder has a 50% higher risk of experiencing a divorce.
17. 15%. That’s the percentage of second marriages that will end after just 36 months.
18. 1 in 4 second marriages will have ended after just 5 years.
19. Having children in a household from a previous marriage increases the chances of a divorce occurring by up to 15%.
20. Individuals with annual incomes of more than $50,000 have a lower chance of divorce when compared to individuals with annual incomes less than $25,000.
21. Insecure individuals are more likely to become unhappy with their second marriage and seek out a divorce.
22. The percentage of people who say they got divorced because their spouse had a lack of commitment to them: 73%.
23. Marriages are 2x more likely to end because of infidelity than abuse.
24. 13% of women who have divorced said they wished that they had worked harder to save their marriage, but 65% of them say they wished their spouse had worked harder.
25. 31% of men who have divorced say that they wished they’d worked harder to save their marriage, but 3 out of 4 men say their ex-wife should have done more.
26. 14% of couples who had one or both people commute at least 45 minutes to work divorced. On the other hand, 10% of couples with smaller commutes to work divorced.
27. People who don’t smile in the photographs that are taken of them are 5x more likely to wind up divorcing their spouse.
28. Those who work in artistic careers, such as dance or choreography, are 2x more likely to get divorced than housekeepers or roofers.
29. Families that have daughters only are 5% more likely to be divorced a second time than families that have sons only.
30. 147%. That’s the increased risk of divorce when someone maintains a group of friends where divorce is common.
31. Living in a traditionally Republican state in the US means there is a 27% higher risk of divorce. Living in a Southern GOP state further enhances that risk.
32. If a sibling goes through a second marriage and divorce, then a person is 22% more likely to get divorced themselves.
33. If only one partner smokes in the second marriage, then there is a 91% increased risk of divorce.
34. More than one million people have parents who separate or divorce each year in the United States.
35. The average length of divorce proceedings in the United States is 1 year.
36. For a second marriage, the mean age for women is 37 years. For men in a second marriage, it is 39.3 years.
37. The divorce rate of military couples rose form 2.6% in 2001 to 3.7% in 2011.
38. The divorce rate for couples over 65 years old has doubled since 1980.
39. When a woman is 2 years older than her husband, then there is a 53% increased risk of divorce for that relationship.
40. Having twins or triplets increases the risk of divorce by 17%.
41. About 6% of American couples marry, divorce, and then remarry each other.
42. The divorce rate for married women in the US: 16.9 per every 1,000.
43. Every 13 seconds, there is one divorce in America.
44. In 2011, only 29 out of every 1000 of divorced or widowed women in the population remarried.
45. 60% of all divorces involve individuals aged 25 to 39.
46. A marriage to a US Navy Seal has a 90% chance of ending in divorce.
47. Same sex marriages have 50% the risk of seeing divorce happen when compared to opposite sex marriages.
48. The second week of January is the most popular time for divorce filings in the United States.
49. 90%. That’s the risk of getting divorced in a second marriage compared to if it had been the first marriage for that couple.
50. Being in a second marriage with a high school dropout increases the risk of divorce by 13%.
51. Couples who meet in bars are 24% more likely to get divorced than couples in the general population.
52. Women with 6 or more sexual partners are about 3x less likely to be in a stable marriage.
53. The state with the lowest rate of second marriages ending in divorce: Iowa.
54. Men and women in Arkansas are twice as likely to be divorced multiple times than the national average.
55. Half of all American kids will see their parents divorce. Half of those kids will see their parents go through a second divorce.
Nobody expects to get hurt. In the end, however, about 2% of all existing active marriages will wind up in divorce every year. Getting married a second time seems like a great idea because it’s the chance to start over new. The mistakes from the first marriage can be corrected so that real happiness can be discovered. For some couples, the second marriage is perfection. For most couples on their second marriage, however, divorce is going to become the outcome once again.
There are a lot of myths surrounding marriage and divorce today. These second marriage divorce statistics will hopefully shine some light on the myths that are so highly promoted today.
Why Are Second Marriages More Likely To End Up In Divorce?
The first marriage divorce rate is likely lower [41-50%] because people haven’t had to experience the proceedings of the divorce before. People are naturally fearful of the things they do not know, so they’ll avoid divorce at all costs to not experience the legal proceedings. The financial cost of a divorce can also be thought of as burdensome, plus there is the inclusion of certain religious beliefs that may also influence the decision.
Once someone walks through that divorce proceeding, however, the experience becomes something they know. It is no longer something that should be feared. Although going through with the divorce can still be hurtful the second time, people know what to expect and how they must cope with their life circumstances to heal.
Sometimes a second marriage is being used to heal the rifts of the first marriage. When that rift doesn’t heal and life doesn’t seem to get “back to normal,” then the divorce happens again because it isn’t the answer that was sought. When it comes to the second marriage divorce statistics, the same thing rings true about a marriage as it does with a first marriage or a fifth one: finding emotionally mature, well-matched people that are willing to work with you and you with them through past issues will help the marriage have a better chance of success.