Why you shouldn’t tie the knot on Valentine’s Day

IT might seem like the most romantic day of the year to get married.

But couples who pick Valentine’s Day to tie the knot are more likely to end up divorced, a study has shown.

It may be that Valentine’s sweethearts are just that bit more impulsive, with the research showing these couples have lived together for a shorter time on average before marrying.

The study led by the University of Melbourne

found those who marry on February 14 are 3 per cent more likely to split.

They are also 45 per cent less likely to make it to their third anniversary than couples who marry on other days.

The research, we looked at more than 1.1 million Dutch weddings, found 6 per cent of Valentine’s Day marriages had failed within three years, compared to the 4 per cent average.

The researchers said couples who married on Valentine’s Day were more likely to have lived together for under a year.

The study, published in the Journal of Population Economics, states: ‘The chance to marry on a special date could increase

the net attractiveness of a wedding and lead to quicker and lower-quality marriage commitments, on average, which might increase the vulnerability of the resulting marriages.’ Inexplicably, the risks were also higher for those who marry on a Monday or Tuesday.

The start of the year is not a popular time to get married in the UK, with Valentine’s Day the exception.

The average number of weddings on a weekday throughout the year is 313 but that jumps to 1,039 for February 14.