Common reasons for divorce — Does one apply to you?
Each divorce is as unique as the couple in its middle. However, the most common reasons why marriages end fall into a relatively few categories.
Some couples experience these issues in their marriage and find a way to work through them. For others, the best solution is to go their separate ways.
Following are some of the common reasons for divorce, in no particular order, according to one psychotherapist and author:
Financial issues
This doesn’t mean not having enough money — although that can be a serious source of stress on a marriage. When couples have different attitudes toward things like saving vs. spending, how much debt is acceptable and if it’s OK for a wife to earn more than a husband, these divergent attitudes can destroy a relationship.
Addiction
Americans today deal more openly with addictions than in the past, and most find seeking treatment to be more acceptable than it was in earlier decades. However, new, highly-addictive opioids are destroying more and more lives, marriages and families.
When addicts (including alcoholics) become more consumed with their addictions than their relationships, their spouses often need to make that final break.
Of course, addictions aren’t always substance-related. Gambling, for example, can be a powerful addiction that can also destroy couples’ financial security.
Infidelity
Whether it’s a one-night stand or a long-time affair, if infidelity permanently destroys a spouse’s trust in his or her mate, it can be impossible for the marriage to survive. Today, with people iincreasingly communicating via social media (sometimes with people they don’t know), “emotional affairs” can also impact marriages. Another potential minefield is the ease with which social media allows people to reconnect and even rekindle old relationships.
Incompatibility and irreconcilable differences
Spouses grows and change throughout the course of a marriage. Sometimes people simply can’t navigate the individual changes within their marriage
In some cases, couples didn’t know their spouses as well as they thought they did when they married. Soon, they realize that they can’t deal with the true identities of the spouses to whom they are now wed.
Whatever the reason for divorce, if couples can work out a settlement that’s agreeable to both of them, it’s generally better for everyone — particularly any minor children. An experienced Arizona family law attorney can help you achieve optimum results.
Source: TODAY, “6 major reasons why people divorce,” Bela Gandhi, Oct. 25, 2017