The global slump in the property market has caused an equal slump in the rate of divorces. Couples simply can’t afford to get divorced any more when there’s a matrimonial home in the mix. Selling their house will prove to expensive as the fall in prices means some of them will make a loss, which is forcing couples to stay together when they really can’t stand each other.

While the fall in property prices shouldn’t affect that many people, as it’s the same for everyone, couples looking to divorce seem to be the hardest hit.

Suzi Mohn is a couples and family therapist in the USA:

They are trapped.  They’re trapped!  It’s like putting a cat and a dog in a cage and say, here get along!

This means that couples are having to stay together under the one roof for financial reasons.

And it’s tough on kids, if you tell your kids mom and dad are getting a divorce and then they stay in the same house, it sends tremendous mixed messages and the children are going to be living in a situation probably with a lot of conflict.

Could this be a good thing? Could couples being forced to stay together for financial reasons actually mean fewer divorces in the long run as they have to learn to work together? I personally doubt that. When a marriage is over, it’s over. Being forced to live under the same roof because you can’t afford to divorce won’t benefit you, your spouse or certainly not your children.

Clive Bellmore