The average age at divorce continued to rise - up to 41.3 for men and 38.8 for women in 2000, against 40.9 and 38.4 in 1999. But failed first marriages dropped to 70 per cent last year from 82 per cent in 1981. Dr Ian Procter, senior sociology lecturer at the University of Warwick, said the figures did not show a real change. These figures don't include break-ups of cohabitants. If you included those you would still have a steady formation and dissolution of partnerships.
Cohabitation is increasingly an alternative to marriage.
Divorce lawyer Mark Harper warned that more legal problems will arise from the increasing numbers cohabiting.