Divorce rates have been dropping, studies have found. Millennials just do not split up as much as older generations. The rate has fallen off by close to 18 percent in recent years.
Why is this happening? Experts have a number of theories, though every marriage is unique.
First and foremost, they point out that millennials tend to wait longer before getting married. They don’t rush into it. When you look at the correlation between age and divorce, you find that getting married later gives you better odds of staying together.
One reason for this change is that millennials often choose to live together prior to officially getting married. Previous generations may have seen people get married young just so that they could start a life together. Modern couples just start that life together whenever they want, whether they are married. Millennials also do not feel as bad about being single or at least unmarried, when previous generations looked at that more as a “failure.” In short, millennials only get married when they really want to, at a later age, without so much outside pressure.
Finally, researchers have found that young people tend to be very selective when choosing who to marry. They value things like financial stability, higher education and actually feeling “ready” to get married. They wait until they think it is truly the right time to tie the knot.
This does not mean they never get divorced, of course, or that unmarried couples do not simply encounter the same legal issues as divorced couples. People of any age need to know all their legal rights.