By Madison Noel, paralegal at Tayntons Solicitors 

The global health crisis and lockdown measures have put increased pressure on families and relationships following the 'stay at home' order from the government. This added pressure has caused previously minor issues to become accentuated, meaning they could no longer be ignored, as the pandemic took away established routines which offered comfort.

There is often a surge of marital breakdowns as a result of families spending increased amounts of time together during school holidays and Christmas. The covid pandemic merely extended these periods, with the added pressures and stresses that a global health crisis naturally brought.

With families and couples being forced to spend an increased amount of time together, in addition to individuals suffering from job and family losses, this caused what were smaller cracks in a relationship to manifest into larger problems. The pandemic therefore acted as a catalyst for relationship breakdowns which may have been on the cards prior to the pandemic, causing this mask to be lifted.

An article by the Independent illustrates how law firms across the country have seen divorce enquiries rise by 95% in the wake of the pandemic. Research has further shown in a poll of 400 people who got divorced during the pandemic, that around 75% of these individuals had no tensions before the pandemic. This has therefore resulted in a substantial increase in divorce rates across the UK.

The covid pandemic has also meant that couples have had to postpone and cancel Weddings, due to social distancing restrictions. Accordingly, fewer couples have had the opportunity to get married over the last 18 months, or they have had to compromise with a small intimate wedding. That means the Pandemic has not only seen divorce rates increase substantially but has also resulted in a significant decrease over the last 18 months in the amount of people getting married. In 2020 there was a 32% decrease in the number of Weddings which took place in the UK, with around 127,000 ceremonies being postponed.

At Tayntons we appreciate that the breakdown of a marriage is a very stressful time which brings a large amount of uncertainty. Tayntons are a well-established firm in the heart of Gloucester with a modern and sympathetic approach to ensure all aspects of relationship breakdowns can be dealt with effectively and professionally.