How is divorce seen culturally in the UK in 2025?

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Obviously the law changed in 2022 to mean you don’t have to give a reason for divorcing; there is no longer any need for one person to sue the other - couples can apply together to end the marriage, or one person can if preferred. You also no longer to be separated for 2 years before applying.

This was obviously really good news for people, for example, in abusive relationships, to enable them to severe connections more quickly so I’m not here to whether these changes are good or bad as I think they broadly are.

What I am interested in is do you think there has been an impact on how society sees divorce? Is there any stigma anymore or is it now totally stigma free? What about second or third divorces?

Journo?

Nope just interested - I was discussing divorce with a friend recently (not mine but someone we knows). She said she thinks it still holds some stigma and judgement, I asked my husband, he said he thinks people don’t care anymore and my friend is wrong. So here I am!

I don’t think anyone cares.

I can only tell my personal opinion & obviously don’t speak for anyone else. I don’t think there’s any stigma surrounding divorce & actually consider many of my friends brave for ending an unhappy marriage rather than staying put.

I am atheist if that makes any difference, I guess some people may dislike divorce for faith reasons.

I don't think it has changed views on divorce one bit.

Any comment or stigma is usually about one or sometimes both of the people in a relationship that ends, not the fact it has ended.

I thought it was stigma free until 16 year old DD's friends were really shocked that her Dad I weren't divorced, because we'd never married!
Split when she was a baby.

I was truly surprised, it's not like we live in an affluent 2.4 children area.

I agree with this, the only exception I’d say is if you’d been divorced say 3+ times then there is probably some people who judgement there purely on the basis of the number

I wonder if this is a generational thing.

I’m in my twenties but when I was in school there was only 1 girl in my class who’s parents weren’t together, they were divorced, everyone else had married parents so this would have been unusual to us then.

Today though I would say maybe 70% of my daughters friends parents are either not together or are together but not married.

I don't think people care/judge except some judgemental, usually older people.

Or yes possibly when someone has had several marriages and divorces it might raise an eyebrow.

I would agree that people are still more weird/surprised about the idea of a couple having children and not being married, even if the child(ren) come first and the marriage later, it tends to be expected.

There is no standard UK opinion on divorce. I'm a Catholic so I don't believe in divorce.

I think it very much depends on the culture, and particularly religion, of the individual.

Personally I don't bat an eyelid at one divorce. I would be shocked I think to hear that someone had been divorced twice but I think that may be because I don't think I have knowingly met anyone who has been divorced twice.

I remember as a kid hearing oh she's divorced in hushed tones in the 70s,I'd like to think not the same stigma around it now and if women are now in the position to get out of abusive/unwanted marriage's then great.
As that definitely wasn't the case when I was growing up and saw what mum went through.

This. I wouldn't bat an eyelid.

People make less than perfect choices, realise they've got it wrong, and end their relationships.

Under the law as it is now, it is the calm sensible logical choice for couples who aren't happy. Best to get it over with, and move on.

I think as people don’t usually ask how a divorce took place, that the change in the law hasn’t changed social attitudes one bit. You know someone is divorced, you never asked who filed for it.

I thought it was stigma free till my husband left...I've been quite shocked at people's attitudes..
Have heard the phrase broken home more than once!

I was the first person in my family to get divorced (and currently still the only). Plenty of friends are divorced though, and so is my partner. I don’t feel there’s a stigma these days - not one I am buying in to at least.

Why on earth would there be stigma to divorce in a modern Western society? Thank heavens most people no longer care or judge.

I used to (in far off days) be a divorce lawyer. Dear lord most of us in my firm were begging for the new change to come in. The whole 'find multiple reasons of unreasonable behaviour' was so so damaging to the process and to the continuation of civility going forwards especially if children were involved. It was so toxic.

I don't think there's any stigma. But weirdly in my circle divorce is much more prevalent among my parents' generation (boomers) than my own (Gen X).

Where I live in affluent north London I know very few divorcees among friends and parent groups. Maybe the expensive housing is keeping people together or maybe if you marry later you've had more experience and make better choices of partners. IDK.

My parents divorced when I was young and so did many of my friends' parents.

I’m divorced. I don’t feel there is a stigma to it or feel judged personally. But then I’m very open as to why my marriage ended ….and I can say that people do judge my ex so if you asked him he’d likely give you a different answer! I think I’d feel more embarrassed if it was a short marriage or i had just given up on my marriage. But it wasn’t and I didn’t.

This is really interesting and is sort of similar to what my friend was saying. She said she thinks there is a lot less stigma to divorce when something has been “done to” someone e.g., abuse, adultery and the injured party is rightly viewed sympathetically. But when people marry and divorce quickly or “grow apart” it is stigmatised.

I do know someone (not well) divorced twice before they were 38 and now on their third marriage and I definitely don’t think it is stigma free - people definitely assume that they haven’t done work on themselves to really be in a committed relationship, maybe make rash decisions, are a difficult person to be with, are a serial cheater, or any number of things. I don’t know them well so I couldn’t comment but it is possible they could have just been extraordinarily unlucky!

The only person I've ever felt slightly cynical about was my ex-boss who was embarking on his 4th marriage when I worked for him.

I couldn't see why he was bothering.

Perhaps it's more a cultural or location thing, as I'm in my 50s and, when I was at school, my own parents were never married, separated before I started school, and it was not unusual (although, of course, not the norm either!) among my friends and acquaintances to have parents who were never married, separated, divorced, or married but in their 2nd marriages.

DH was his ex-wife's 4th husband. Actually, tbh I do look a bit askance at that, despite what i posted before. So perhaps I am more judgy than i realised initially! She's on husband number 6 now. TBF she and DH divorced 24 years ago, so perhaps an additional 2 marriages in 24 years is not that noteworthy.

But I have made many mistakes in my romantic life over time. I just did not (thankfully for me) marry them. It does not mean I look down on those who did marry and it then turned out not as they hoped and wished.

One divorce is to be expected. It’s almost inevitable.

Two divorces is careless.

Three you will get judged.