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Newlyweds are now staying married longer than the Victorians

People getting married in modern times are enjoying longer marriages than the Victorians [Image: Getty]
People getting married in modern times are enjoying longer marriages than the Victorians [Image: Getty]

While dating apps are more popular than ever, and no-fault divorces make it the easiest it’s ever been to part ways, it may come as a surprise that marriages are generally stronger than 150 years ago.

New research has shown that newlyweds are enjoying longer unions than those in the Victorian age, report The Sunday Times.

According to an analysis of official statistics, over half of couples walking down the aisle today will have marriages lasting 40 years or more.

Of those who reach this mark - known as a ruby wedding anniversary - an impressive 99 per cent will be together forever.

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“The story quoted to me over and over again by highly intelligent people is that people get divorced nowadays because we live so much longer we are bound to get bored,” said Sir Paul Coleridge, chairman of the Marriage Foundation, to the paper.

“The figures show this is totally wrong. The divorce statistics among people who have been married a long time are minuscule.”

He suggested that people who have experienced the “horror and pain” of parents divorcing go on to be more thoughtful about who they themselves marry.

A decade ago the Office for National Statistics estimated that the average couple marrying in 2010 would be together for 30 years.

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Since then, there has been a drop in women filing for divorce in the first decade of marriage.

Harry Benson, research director of the Marriage Foundation, now predicts only 31 per cent of weddings will now ultimately end in separation - a 44 per cent reduction since the 1980s.

However, while the figures suggest marriage is now stronger than in the Victorian era - it may in part be because people did not live for as long in the 1800s.

Les Mayhew, professor of statistics at Cass Business School in London, pointed out to the paper that many during that time did not make it an old enough age to celebrate a 40th wedding anniversary.

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The average bride was 23, and the groom 25, and one or other would usually die within 36 years.

It comes after a study revealed half of newlyweds feel pressure to have an Insta-worthy wedding.

The survey of 2,800 couples showed that 42 per cent are feeling the pressure to ensure their special occasion is social media-ready.

The National Wedding Survey also found that a quarter of those engaged will go up to 30 per cent over their budget in order to ensure their wedding will look good on Instagram.

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