Couples say this was the No. 1 conflict in their relationship
46% of divorced couples say this was the No. 1 conflict in their relationship—and it isn’t money
Published Tue, Aug 15 2023 Updated Tue, Aug 15 20238:23 PM EDT
Almost 690,000 couples reported getting divorced in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s about half the number of couples who reported getting married.
Most couples file for what is called a no-fault divorce, which means you can dissolve your marriage without showing that either party has committed any wrongdoing.
That doesn’t mean that the union ended without friction, though. There are a handful of commonly cited factors that couples feel put a strain on their marriage, according to a Forbes Advisor survey.
The biggest conflicts divorced couples encounter are:
Career choices
Parenting differences
Division of household labor
Relationships with family
Relationships with friends
Finances
Health choices
Almost half, 46%, of those surveyed said career choices were the biggest source of conflict in their marriage.
Parenting differences came in second at 43%.
Couples also said division of household labor caused disputes. Science bears this out: women who are partnered and had children with men reported having less sexual desire if they were doing a larger portion of the housework.
Only 5% of divorcees say there was no way their marriage could have been saved, the survey says.
A whopping 63% said that having a better understanding of commitment prior to marrying could have helped them avoid divorce. And more than half said that if they had a better understanding of their spouse’s morals and values prior to getting married, they might still be together.
