Divorce Over 50 in the UK: What the Statistics Show

Divorce among older couples in the UK has become more visible, even as the total number of divorces has fallen over the longer term. In 2023 there were 102,678 divorces in England and Wales, and the average marriage ending in divorce had lasted well over a decade (ONS, Divorces in England and Wales, 2023).

This page pulls together official statistics on later-life divorce, sometimes called "silver splitters", for England and Wales. Every figure below is drawn from a named source, with its reference period, so you can check it. Statistics describe patterns across the population and say nothing about any individual case. Where the picture differs in Scotland or Northern Ireland, that is flagged.

Key figures at a glance

The headline numbers on divorce in England and Wales come from the Office for National Statistics, which publishes an annual divorce bulletin and separate cohort analysis. The most recent bulletin covers 2023. Age at divorce was last recorded for 2019, so the most current later-life measures come from marriage cohort data and the 2021 Census rather than from single-year age tables.

Figures are for England and Wales and reflect the most recent published editions as at July 2026. Definitions and any subsequent revisions are set out in the linked ONS releases.

How later-life divorce has changed

Marriages that end in divorce tend to do so after many years, and the risk of divorce continues, at a slower pace, into long marriages. ONS cohort analysis follows couples who married in a given year. For those who married in 1963, 22.8% had divorced by their 25th (silver) wedding anniversary, rising to 27.0% by the 50th and 27.1% by the 60th (diamond) anniversary (ONS, Divorces in England and Wales, 2023, as at July 2026, subject to change).

Source: ONS, Divorces in England and Wales, 2023, cohort analysis, England and Wales, as at July 2026, subject to change. The 1963 cohort is the first in the records able to reach a diamond anniversary.

The median duration of an opposite-sex marriage ending in divorce has stayed above twelve years across recent releases: 12.5 years in 2018, 12.3 years in 2019, and 12.7 years in 2023 (ONS, 2023; earlier years, ONS, 2018 and ONS, 2019; figures as at July 2026, subject to change). A long typical duration means many divorces involve couples who are no longer young.

Age at divorce: what the record shows

The clearest measure of age at divorce comes with a caveat: it stops in 2019. In 2018, the average (mean) age at divorce for opposite-sex couples was 46.9 years for men and 44.5 years for women (ONS, Divorces in England and Wales, 2018, as at July 2026, subject to change). From 2020 onwards, the age of people divorcing is no longer collected during the process, so single-year age tables end at 2019.

Census data fills part of the gap. At the 2021 Census, 9.1% of adults in England and Wales were divorced or had a civil partnership that had dissolved, compared with 9.0% in 2011, and the ONS notes that the proportion of younger adults who are divorced fell over that decade while the proportion of older adults rose (ONS, Census 2021, marital status, as at July 2026, subject to change). That shift in the age balance is the core of the "silver splitter" story.

A stable overall divorce rate can still hide a rising share of divorces among people over 50, if divorce is falling among the young at the same time.

What the numbers mean

Read together, the figures suggest later-life divorce is a real and durable feature of the picture rather than a passing headline, though the evidence is more indirect than it once was. A mid-40s average age at divorce in 2018, a typical marriage duration above twelve years, and a Census that shows the divorced share of older adults rising all point the same way, while none of them, on its own, measures divorce over 50 directly.

In my view, three cautions are worth holding. First, because age at divorce stopped being recorded in 2020, any recent claim about a precise "over-50 divorce rate" should be treated carefully and traced back to its source. Second, cohort analysis describes people who married decades ago and may not predict how today's marriages will end. Third, national statistics blend very different situations, so they can frame a question but cannot answer it for one household. The trend can inform how people think about later-life planning, but it does not dictate what anyone should do.

Later-life separation can also coincide with decisions about property, pensions and wills, which is one reason the data draws interest beyond demographers. Those are areas where the numbers stop and individual circumstances take over.

Divorce over 50 and estate planning

A change in relationship status often prompts a review of legal and financial arrangements, and later-life divorce is a common example. General information here is not advice, and the right steps depend entirely on circumstances. Many people choose to revisit their will, any lasting power of attorney, and the way assets and pensions are held after a separation, ideally with a qualified professional.

In England and Wales, marriage generally revokes an earlier will unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage, and divorce affects how gifts to, and the appointment of, a former spouse are read (gov.uk, making a will). Because these rules interact, a will written before a divorce may no longer do what someone expects. Reviewing it is one option some people consider; our How to Write a Will guide covers the general points, and the wider estate planning guide shows how a will sits alongside powers of attorney and tax.

Tax can shift too. Transfers between spouses and civil partners are generally exempt from inheritance tax, and that spousal exemption depends on the marriage or civil partnership continuing, so its position can change on divorce (gov.uk, Inheritance Tax, as at July 2026, subject to change). Many people who divorce later in life go on to form new relationships, and the patterns around that are covered in our data note on remarriage in the UK. Pensions on divorce are a regulated financial matter, and it can be worth discussing them with an FCA-authorised adviser rather than acting on general reading.

Sources and methodology

Every statistic on this page comes from a named official source and has been checked against the live publication. Figures are for England and Wales unless stated, cover the reference periods shown, and reflect the most recent editions available as at July 2026. Later ONS revisions take precedence over the values quoted here.

• Divorces in England and Wales, 2023 (total divorces, opposite-sex divorces, civil partnership dissolutions, divorce rates, median marriage duration, cohort analysis): ONS, reference year 2023.
• Divorces in England and Wales, 2019 (median marriage duration): ONS, reference year 2019.
• Divorces in England and Wales, 2018 (mean age at divorce, median marriage duration): ONS, reference year 2018.
• Marriage and civil partnership status, Census 2021 (share of adults divorced, age shift): ONS, Census 2021.
• Making a will and Inheritance Tax (general legal and tax points, not statistics): gov.uk, make a will and gov.uk, Inheritance Tax, as at July 2026, subject to change.

Methodology note. Age at divorce is no longer collected from 2020 onwards, so later-life divorce is described here using cohort analysis and Census marital-status data rather than single-year age tables. No figure has been estimated, rounded beyond the source, or extrapolated. Scotland and Northern Ireland keep separate divorce statistics through National Records of Scotland and NISRA, and are not covered by the ONS figures above.

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