Dallas Divorce Law Blog by Michelle O'Neil

An article from Rutgers University’s National Marriage Project lists the Top Ten Myths of Divorce 

1. Myth:  “Half of all marriages end in divorce.”  That may have been the case several decades ago, but the divorce rate has actually been dropping since the early 1980s.  In the early 2000s, the chances that a marriage contracted this year will end in divorce before one partner dies has been estimated to be between 40 and 45 percent.
2. Myth:  “Because people learn from their bad experiences, second marriages tend to be more successful than first marriages.”  Although many people who divorce have successful subsequent marriages, the divorce rate of remarriages is higher than that of first marriages.
3. Myth:  “Living together before marriage is a good way to reduce the chances of eventually divorcing.”  Many studies have found that those who live together before marriage have a considerably higher chance of eventually divorcing.  This may be, in part, because people who are willing to cohabit may also be those who are more willing to divorce.

To upload a copy of the article, click here:  Top Ten Myths of Divorce

Parade Magazine ran an interesting story on marriages and divorces in America.  Their survey confirmed that money and sex are the main sources of stress in a marriage.  Of their respondents, 43% reported that they squabble over money.  Household chores ranked second, although men consider chores less of an issue than women – telling since men still do considerably less housework than women.  As for sex, three-quarters of the respondents in the survey reported their sex lives were fulfilling, while 25% put their sex lives on the tolerable or terrible end of the spectrum.  Even so, 60% of the men reported that they don’t have sex enough, while 51% of the women shared that feeling. Despite those complaints, most of the respondents reported being faithful to their spouses, although 25% of men said they’d strayed outside their marriage or refused to answer the question.  Only 15% of women reported cheating or refused to answer the question.

Of the women, 44% have thought about leaving their husbands, where 31% of men have had the same thought.

Question… with a national divorce rate holding around 50% (and a slightly higher rate of divorce in Dallas Texas area) the respondents of the Parade survey must not be typical of the whole of society.