In the first of its kind in the world, a study into wedding dates revealed that certain wedding dates leave the couples with a higher chance of getting a divorce later on. Weddings taking place on Valentine’s Day or dates with special numbers or sequence of numbers, like 9/9/99 or 1/2/03 have an 18 to 36 percent higher chance of ending in divorce, according to a study by University of Melbourne economists.
The report from the study, called “Not Your Lucky Day: Romantically and Numerically Special Wedding Date Divorce Risks,” shows research conducted on couples who were married on special dates, and cites statistics of the rate of divorce by the couples’ fifth wedding anniversaries and ninth wedding anniversaries. The data used for the study included information about more than one million marriages between 1999 and 2013 in the Netherlands. Researchers used Dutch registries that covered all marriages and divorces within that country during that time period.
What are the statistics?
By their five-year anniversaries:
- 11 percent of Valentine’s Day marriages were estimated to fail
- 10 percent of same-number-date marriages were estimated to fail
- Eight percent of ordinary-date marriages were estimated to fail
By their nine-year anniversaries:
- 21 percent of Valentine’s Day marriages were estimated to fail
- 19 percent of same-number-date marriages were estimated to fail
- 16 percent of ordinary-date marriages were estimated to fail
How common are these wedding dates?
The study found that romantically and numerically special wedding dates were extremely popular. There were up to five times as many weddings on these “special” dates than on regular, ordinary dates.
What explains the higher risk of divorce?
While the study showed that special wedding dates had a higher occurrence of the marriage ending in divorce, it was not the date itself that determined the success of the marriage. The higher risk of divorce can be explained by demographics or characteristics of the couples who happened to choose these wedding dates. These characteristics are:
- Having been in a previous marriage
- Already have children
- Spouses have a larger age difference
- Spouses are not alike in terms of education level
Compared with couples who married on ordinary dates, couples who married on special dates were more likely to have the above characteristics. One of the professors who conducted the study explained that couples who married on ordinary dates could be more influenced by characteristics of their relationship, focusing on their compatibility, than couples who choose a special wedding date.
Whether your divorce has to do with any of these characteristics or not, a skilled family law attorney can help you figure out what happens next. From dividing assets to determining child custody, it can be overwhelming to think about how this may change your life. Having an attorney experienced in complex divorces by your side every step of the way can help take care of the difficult part, so you can focus on your life.
