Why more couples are choosing divorce before the 10-year mark

From domestic abuse to infidelity, to a lack of understanding and financial difficulties, more couples are choosing to seek a divorce before reaching the 10-year mark.According to a recently published Statistics SA study — Marriages and Divorces 2023 - there were 22,230 completed divorce forms processed in 2023. This indicated an increase of 10.1% from the 20,196 divorces processed in 2022.According to the study, there were 12,563 women and 7,348 men, who filed for a divorce in 2023.In addition, the results showed that four in ten divorces, 9,326 of the 22,230, were from marriages that lasted for less than 10 years.About 20,687 children (under the age of 18) were affected by the divorces that took place in 2023.According to the study, a comparison with the 2022 data showed that registration of all marriages and unions had also decreased. Registered civil marriages, customary marriages and civil unions decreased by 11.2%, 19.2% and 6.7% respectively.Meanwhile, attorneys said they had se...