Elizabeth Gilbert, in her book about marriage, Commitment, lays out her interpretation of a Rutgers report on divorce statistics. Here’s her list of things that correlate with divorce, in the order she mentions them. She lays them out with a lot more subtlety, humor, and personality, but read the book if you want that.
Your parents are divorced
You are alcoholic
You are mentally ill
You cheat on your spouse
You gamble compulsively
You are violent
You are younger than 25
You have not gone to college (especially the woman)
You have children
You lived with your spouse before marriage
You have different racial backgrounds
You are different ages
You have different religions
You have different ethnic backgrounds
You have different cultural backgrounds
You have different careers
You don’t know your neighbors
You don’t belong to social clubs
You don’t live near your families
You are not religious
The man does not do housework
May 8, 2010 at 8:04 pm
This appears to me to cover every couple!
May 8, 2010 at 9:16 pm
Yeah, true. I guess everyone gets an excuse, should they choose to divorce.