Here are some interesting studies and trivia related to divorce. Perhaps our readers will gain some insight about their own relationships:
- In one U.K. survey of people who had been divorced for at least five years or had ended a relationship that long ago, half reported regretting ending things. Around 42 percent said they would consider giving the relationship another shot, if that were a possibility. Perhaps some of those marriages might have been saved, though divorce is the only realistic option in many cases.
- Though it may seem like experience would make marriage easier, it appears that a second or third marriage is more likely to end in divorce than a first marriage. The divorce rate for first marriages is between 41 to 50 percent. Meanwhile, second marriages end 60 to 67 percent of the time, and 73 to 74 percent of people married for the third time get divorced.
- It appears that divorce is more likely in Southern states, such as Virginia, than the rest of the country. As a region, the South had the highest divorce rate in 2009 at 10.2 per 1,000 men and 11.1 per 1,000 women.
- Few enjoy a long drive to and from work, but one study suggests that a lengthy commute could lead to divorce. The 10-year study found that 14 percent of couples who broke up in that time had at least one partner with a 45-minute commute or longer. Those with shorter commutes only split up 10 percent of the time.
- Of the 43 men to serve as U.S. president, only one ever went through divorce. Ronald Regan and his first wife, actress Jane Wyman, divorced in 1948 after eight years of marriage. His 1952 marriage to Nancy Davis lasted until his death in 2004.