Do Doubts Before Marriage Indicate a Greater Chance for Divorce?

Many people have heard the popular expression for soon to be married individuals having “cold feet.” This feeling of cold feet before saying your “I dos” is actually quite common. Marriage isn’t just a relationship that can end tomorrow if it doesn’t work out; while divorce is an option down the road, marriage today is agreeing to a commitment tomorrow and forever. Life completely changes when you get a divorce, for some it means living with another person for the first time, sharing finances, moving to a new location or even the actual thought of commitment itself.

Marriage is a beautiful and exciting thing, and yet many still experience fears because they are saying yes to forever with another person. People often wonder if you have any signs of cold feet before a marriage if it means that you will divorce down the line. This idea of uncertainty about your marriage has been a folk tale that has been passed on for years, and whether it is a scientific fact cannot really be said. Every marriage is unique, just as every person within that marriage is unique; because of that whether or not they will work out in the long run is entirely up to them as well as the dynamic of their specific relationship.

There have been some studies that have been conducted which address the issue of cold feet before marriage and the effects years down the line. One study consisted of 232 newlyweds who were in their first marriage. Over a period of four years they interviewed the couple’s first after 6 months of their marriage together. When asked the question if they had experienced any cold feet symptoms before their big day, 47% of the men and 38% of the wives claimed that they did have uncertainties in some form. After the four year period, only 12% of the couples divorced however, their research also brought up an interesting thought.

They found in this group of couples, that the men who had doubts were less likely to be the ones who got a divorce, and yet when the woman experienced doubts before their marriage they were more likely to be the ones who divorced their husbands. In the Lavner group study, they thought perhaps those who had previous interactions with divorce would be the ones more likely to terminate their first marriage. This would include those whose parents had a difficult relationship or divorced at some point.

Despite the great influence that family life can have on an individual, the researchers discovered that the people who had doubts prior to their marriage were more likely to divorce than those who had family members divorce in the past. Overall, there is no way to pinpoint whether a marriage will work out in the long run; divorces do happen for many reasons and people choose to move on. If you or someone you know is considering a divorce, contact Hutchinson Law today for more information!