The seemingly happiest of marriages can and do end in divorce over time. A variety of factors play a role. Even though age differences do not determine the success or failure of a marriage, researchers at the Journal of Marriage and Family published findings identifying the different ages of spouses and how likely it would play a role in the marriage ending in divorce.
The age gap’s impact on divorce
According to the 2016 study, the age difference doesn’t have to be that significant. One statistic revealed that men who marry someone older than them are more likely to pull the plug. Even a three-year age gap can increase the likelihood of divorce by 87 percent. Conversely, wives starting marital dissolution proceedings are at 23 percent.
Thirty-eight percent of women who marry younger men initiate divorce. For each additional year in the age gap of their husband, the risk of a marriage ending increases eight percent. Conversely, the chances of husbands divorcing their younger wives drop by 50 percent.
Men’s satisfaction increases when their wives are younger than them. Conversely, women married to spouses who are older express dissatisfaction as opposed to wives more satisfied with a younger male spouse.
Overall, a husband’s preference is to be older than their partner. Statistics reveal that satisfaction is finite. Up to 10 years into their union, marital satisfaction plummeted for men married to younger women. Even those who expressed significant fulfillment admitted to those feelings fading quickly.
Simply put, the more satisfaction men feel, the more likely those feelings are to dissipate in a matter of a few years.
While other factors such as financial problems or other outside factors can play a role in divorce, the common denominator seems to surround spouses with a minuscule age difference having more successful and long-lasting wedded unions.