Half of all Brits stay married ‘for sake of children’

NEARLY half of all married couples only stay together because of the children, according to research.

A study of 2,000 married adults found 35 per cent often argue with their spouse, while a huge 51 per cent believe there is “no romance” in their relationship.

Just under half (45%) bemoan the lack of sex in their marriage, with more than one in five never getting intimate between the sheets.

The national average amount of sex between married adults is just under four times per month.

Three quarters (77%) describe their relationship as “comfortable”, with 15% finding it repetitive, while a further 12% believe their marriage is the leading cause of stress in their lives.

And one-sixth of married men and women in the UK think their relationship is only hanging on because they can’t afford to be single.

The research was commissioned by Real

Fix, a new podcast which features real life people talking about their lives.

Real Fix podcast host Hattie Bishop said: “Our results made for some fairly unhappy reading in terms of marriage happiness.

“It seems thousands of people – both men and women – are in relationships that aren’t fulfilling for them. While it can seem too daunting to get out of a marriage that isn’t working, often it can lead to much greater happiness further down the line.

“Our new podcast features all sorts of people, in all sorts of relationships – and the things that keep them together or drive them apart. I think all of them would agree that marriage can be stressful.”

The study also found just under 14% of married men and women would go as far as to say they wish they had never married their spouse.