We Need To Talk About Covid And Divorce
The Covid pandemic of 2020 changed the world and impacted countless marriages leading to divorce.
In 2020 the world changed as the Covid pandemic shut nearly everything down. People were stuck in their homes for weeks and months at a time, unable to go out to work, socialize or even shop in some cases.
It’s taken some time but what’s often overlooked are the effects the pandemic had on us. Thanks to social media, hot political and social division and a lot of free time, nearly every household became a battleground. Even the ones where couples agree on things had issues, because people were stuck together far more than they had been before.
How The Pandemic Impacted Married Couples
If you have been married for 10 years or longer, the first five years of your marriage were probably some combination of you and your spouse going to work during the week, spending time together most nights and weekends and doing a lot of work on the house getting settled in. That’s normal and the irony there is that most couples did not spend a ton of time together. Communication is constant with phones, but the reality is that we don’t spend a lot of time with our spouses. Then came 2020.
Those couples that saw each other while they were awake, maybe 60 hours a week, were now stuck in the same house, every day, all day with nothing to do except watch television. You don’t think that led to some fighting? Marriages struggled during and since the pandemic and many are still being impacted by that time.
How Newer Couples Are Struggling
Newer couples, meaning married after the pandemic, are doing well. In fact, divorce rates are down among these couples, even though it’s still too early to know what will happen over the next two or three years. However, one interesting factor that played a role in the decision making of couples getting married after the pandemic was financial.
It turns out that the majority of newly married couples have said that part of what influenced their decision was financial benefits. This includes things like health insurance and getting a mortgage. The fact that this is part of the decision-making process for many couples in the last three years shows added motivation for them to remain committed. It is good though to see so many couples taking finances into heavy consideration before making long-term commitments.
Stresses Of A New Normal
How are you doing with returning to normal? Are you happy that you’re back to work, back in the office, sitting through that commute to and from home each day? Are you happy that things are nearly twice what they were before the pandemic while you’re only making slightly more? Are you thrilled that you now have to worry about costs, getting assistance like repairs on your home, healthcare quality and more?
Living through the pandemic did teach us to appreciate what we have and what we now have the freedom to do. There are a lot of new stresses that come with these responsibilities and challenges and for that we need to cut ourselves a break. However, the reality is that married couples of any age will be impacted by outside factors that will put more stress on their marriage.
Political And Social Issues Add More
There have been divorces over the last four years due to disagreements on politics and social matters. It did happen and as more and more people became outspoken about their beliefs and disagreements with others, several relationships began to struggle because of that. You cannot ask people to ignore these feelings and angers and unfortunately, that has impacted marriages to the point of divorce.
Divorce attorneys feel that these factors, along with stress regarding finances have impacted divorce rates much more than in years past. It’s true. In 2015 you didn’t care as much who your husband voted for or if he was able to make $100,000 a year. Now people do care, and the problem is they care about those things far more than they should.
For Some, It Wasn’t About Love
You are not going to marry someone you do not love. However, the reality is that there are other factors that play a role including financial stability, compatibility and more. If you were a couple that loved your marriage but were spending fewer than 40 hours a week together, then 2020 could have put a major strain on your relationship. This is the reality and challenge many couples are struggling with now.