Bad behaviour behind more present day divorces than adultery

A new study suggests that adultery falls behind bad behaviour as leading grounds for divorce these days.

Warring couples are only half as likely to cite adultery as the cause of a marriage breakdown than they were 40 years ago, the Guardian reported.

Analysis of more than 5 million divorce cases has shown that claims of unreasonable behaviour have rocketed, the study revealed.

Co-operative Legal Services compared the grounds for divorce in the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s as well as the present day.

It found that while in the 70s, 29 % of marriages ended because of adultery, the latest figures show only 15 % of divorces were down to infidelity.

In the 70s unreasonable behaviour was cited in 28 % of cases but it now accounts for almost half of all divorces (47 %).

Examples of unreasonable behaviour given to lawyers for divorce include an unsociable husband making his wife feel guilty when she wanted to go out with her friends; a cross-dressing husband who decided to have a sex change; and a spouse withdrawing all the family savings — 40,000 pounds — and burning it in the bedroom.