Bad news for your marriage: summer is the end for many couples and here’s why, according to the experts

Contrary to popular belief, January, right after Christmas and the rest of the festive period, is not peak divorce month, with family law attorneys backing up the findings of a study revealing marriages are most likely to break down either near the start of spring, or the end of summer.

Divorce filing data shows March and August peaks

In 2016, researchers at the University of Washington analyzed divorce filing data between 2011 and 2015, discovering that the numbers “consistently peaked” in March and August each year.

Those results came as no surprise to Chicago divorce lawyer Raiford Dalton Palmer, who told NPR that in his 30 years in the business, “the numbers back this up”.

Similarly, the experiences of family law attorney Kirk Stange, whose firm has 27 offices in nine different states, also corroborate the claim. “Every year we see the same thing, no matter what state we’re looking at”.

So, what’s going on? Why are divorces seemingly more likely at certain times of year than others?

Vacations play key role in couples splitting

The common consensus is that it all comes down to vacations, specifically waiting until the theoretical good times are over before hitting one’s partner - and the rest of the family - with the bad news.

“It continues kind of like a wave based on people’s life events,” says Palmer. Once Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa and then New Year’s have passed, some potential divorcees let things settle down and reflect a little before filing those papers in March.

Alternatively, many, particularly those with children, push on through past spring break and even beyond the summer vacation, perhaps hoping they can breathe new life into a relationship, says sociology professor Julie Brines, the study author of the University of Washington research.

“A new beginning” or the beginning of the end?

“People tend to face the holidays with rising expectations, despite what disappointments they might have had in years past,” Brines told the UW News. “They represent periods in the year when there’s the anticipation or the opportunity for a new beginning, a new start, something different, a transition into a new period of life. It’s like an optimism cycle, in a sense.”

However, it appears those expectations are often not met, with August another peak time for divorce paper filings. With the summer vacation over, and Christmas several months away, it’s considered one of the least disruptive moments to embark on a life-changing process.

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