Our Blogs

Divorce is more likely amongst older couples when one spouse falls ill, but is significantly more likely if the spouse that falls ill is the wife according to a recent study. The study, conducted by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, analysed 20 years worth of data concerning 2,717 marriages all of which contained at least one spouse over the age of 50. Researchers found that a divorce was far more likely if it was the wife that fell seriously ill. If a wife was diagnosed with heart or lung disease, then the likelihood of divorce increased significantly. This was not the case when a wife was diagnosed with cancer, however, as this brought about no increased risk of divorce. In comparison, couples were more like to become divorced is the husband suffered a stroke, but not if the husband suffered from any other serious illnesses or conditions. Researchers have posited that this trend could be attributed to the fact that traditional gender roles result in being harder for men to adapt to the role of caregiver. Additionally, they also theorised that concerns regarding the costs of health care could also have brought about this increased possibility of divorce.