Top 10 Reasons People Get Divorced

Top 10 Reasons People Get Divorced
Top 10 Reasons People Get Divorced

Top 10 Reasons People Get Divorced

 

As I write this, a story is unfolding. After twelve years together, including two years in the capacity of husband and wife, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie – collectively and internationally known as Brangelina – are getting divorced. The details are still vague, mostly consisting of sound bites from Pitt (‘I’m very saddened by this, but what matters most now is the wellbeing of the kids’), or from Jolie’s attorney (‘The decision was made for the health of the family’). Yet the scarcity of information is doing nothing to detract from the story’s popularity: it is, at present, the most read story on the BBC News website.

 

Amidst an escalating international crisis in Syria, violent anti-police protests in North Carolina and emerging details about a famine in Yemen, we might ask why, exactly, Brangelina’s divorce constitutes news. The answer, I’d suggest, must lie in its symbolism. As far as celebrity royalty goes, the bella coppia have come as close to fantasy perfection as possible – demonstrating considerable financial largesse, genuine humanitarian concern, and, recently, stoic resilience in the face of life-threatening illness. In a more relatable sphere, however, their significance could be said to have been as ambassadors for a notably contemporary incarnation of marriage: this will be Jolie’s third divorce, Pitt’s second.

 

This, in itself, is instructive. A large part of this story’s popularity comes down to its contemporary relevance: divorce rates stand at around 40-50% of first marriages and 60% of second. Divorce amongst the over 50s –termed ‘gray divorce’ – is on the increase, constituting around one-quarter of all divorces in the US. Some call this a crisis; others call it adaptability. Here, it’s called a trend, or cultural phenomenon, and here on Listland we’ve compiled 10 reasons to help both explain and contextualize it.

10Secularization.

People no longer believe in magic. As much.

9Because we can.

Divorce is no-fault nowadays.

8Personal incompatibility.

Yikes! Too much fighting is terrible.

7Financial incompatibility.

You’ve gotta be on the same page when it comes to money!

6Communication breakdown.

Not speaking can be worse than fighting. Especially when one or both people become indifferent.

5 Infidelity.

Use the Shaggy defense. It wasn’t me.

4Substance abuse.

Try to keep your nose clean if you’re married. It’s better that way.

3Stepparents and In-laws

Some mother-in-laws just want to watch the world burn.

2The realization that we’re ultimately alone in the world.

You enter the world and leave it the same way. Alone. Unless you’re a twin and you both happened to get run over by the same Zamboni.

1 High rates of per capita margarine consumption.

It’s butter’s fault. I knew it!
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James is a veteran freelance writer with over 5 years experience. When he's not writing he can be found snowboard and free skiing the mountains of Lake Tahoe. List Land gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post. List Land also generates revenue through sponsored or paid posts. Thanks for reading, please support our sponsors.