Divorces outnumbered marriages in 2020 for first time

THE battle fought between Covid and Cupid throughout lockdown was won by the virus, it seems.

Marriages plummeted as the Government banned ceremonies – and figures have now revealed that weddings were outnumbered by divorces for the first time in 2020.

While 103,592 divorces were granted that year, just 85,770 couples tied the knot. This represented a record 61 per cent drop on the 219,850 marriages across England and Wales in 2019, the Office for National Statistics said.

Between the end of March and start of July, when the most stringent stay at home order was in place, just 264 marriages took place – compared with 71,883 the previous year. September became a popular month for weddings, rather than August as is traditional, after receptions for up to 30 guests were allowed.

One of the most popular days to get married was November 4 – just before the second national lockdown began. Many family court cases were put on hold but there were fewer Covid-era restrictions on divorces.

Detailed analysis showed that older couples were more likely to go ahead with slimmed-down weddings during lockdown than younger ones, who may have been more keen to wait for their big day.

Harry Benson, of the Marriage Foundation think-tank, said: ‘These figures from the ONS are far worse than even we had feared. The draconian restrictions on weddings during lockdown, that even included an outright ban for part of the year, have had a devastating effect on British family life.

‘A 61 per cent drop in weddings was comfortably the worst in Western Europe.’