YOU REALLY BUG ME... SO I’M OFF! Divorces set to soar after lockdown
BRITAIN’S lockdown could spell the end of many relationships, figures reveal.
Counsellors say they are bracing themselves for a surge in break-ups, similar to that usually seen after the Christmas holiday.
And it emerged that requests for divorces have tripled.
It comes after many couples hit breaking point while spending too much time together in isolation
A UK-wide poll of 2,000 people at the start of lockdown found 23% said it was placing pressure on their relationship.
And around 12% of respondents said they were now having doubts about their future together as restrictions were eased around the country.
Marriage guidance charity Accord said an emergency helpline set up in early April was “inundated with calls”.
It added requests for face-to-face counselling have soared since lockdown was eased. Accord counsellor Dr Mary Goss, who analysed the helpline calls, said that generally speaking, the healthier the relationship was before lockdown, “the better able the couple were to handle the additional stresses and pressures”.
She said: “The couples who weren’t skilled at avoiding criticism, who
BEACHES were packed out yesterday as parts of Britain hit 27C – hotter than the Costa del Sol.
But areas in the north endured wet conditions, and forecasters warned weeks of cool washouts are on the way – just in time for the school holidays.
Around 100,000 visitors were expected at Bournemouth and Brighton, with roads to the coast busier than usual. Sunseekers also flocked to Camber Sands in Essex, pictured. Britain was hotter than 25C Malaga but experts say it will all change next week. John Hammond, a Weathertrending forecaster, warned: “The cool and showery theme is expected to continue well into August.” tended towards defensiveness, contempt or stonewalling, were at a massive disadvantage when it came to coping with the challenges lockdown presented.”
Meanwhile law firm Richard Reed said it had received three times the number of queries about divorce in June than in an average month before the coronavirus struck.
Another, Weightmans, said calls from separating couples had more than doubled.
The law firm’s Emma Collins said: “Many of these new inquiries will be as a direct or indirect result of the pandemic.”
Graham Coy, of legal firm Wilsons, said backlogs in the family courts were likely to increase following the global pandemic.
DAILY STAR SUNDAY, July 19, 2020
THE Government has paused its daily updates of the death toll from Covid-19 for the whole of the UK. It comes after Health Secretary Matt Hancock ordered a review into claims by researchers that there were “flaws” in the way figures are being calculated.