RELATIONSHIP RECESSION: (UN)COUPLING AND CONSEQUENCES 

Published on 27 January, 2025 | Eleanor Scott

Time flies.

Just over a decade ago, the Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow and the equally celebrated lead singer of Coldplay, Chris Martin, announced the decision to end their 11-year marriage.

It was far from the first celebrity break-up but, however, it became nearly as famous as their exploits on stage and screen thanks to the description given by the couple to their separation: a “conscious uncoupling”.

The term has since been cited regularly by commentators trying to make sense of the dynamic nature of households in Hollywood and much further afield.

It was also later ruminated on by Paltrow herself, aware of how studied the remark had become (https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/gwyneth-paltrow-conscious-uncoupling).

Another phrase – “relationship recession” – has been added to the phraseology of families by experts aware, in particular, of the apparent falling popularity of marriage.

In England and Wales, there is ample data to support that theory.

I would even go further and suggest that the situation might be regarded not as one of “conscious uncoupling” but no coupling whatsoever, at least of the formal kind.

The latest figures produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the number of marriages in 2022 (246,897) represented a drop of 42 per cent on those recorded half a century before (426,241) (https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/marriagecohabitationandcivilpartnerships/bulletins/marriagesinenglandandwalesprovisional/2021and2022#marriages-in-england-and-wales-data).

That is only one part of the picture, though.

An even more stark picture is created by further ONS’ data showing that the proportion of individuals who are not only not marrying but have never been in a marriage or civil partnership is increasing rapidly (https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/populationestimatesbymaritalstatusandlivingarrangements/2022).

In 2022, it stood at just under 29 million people – a rise of 26.3 per cent in two decades. Yet the scenario is even more dramatic among men and women over the age of 60.

Living alone actually doubled among that demographic group over the same 20-year period.

Analysts have identified the present and possible future impact which the ‘relationship recession’ is having on birth rates around the globe (https://en.money.it/The-relationship-recession-is-going-global).

It is almost enough for people to take fright, believing that the prospects for family life worldwide are bleak.

However, having pored over relevant available data, I do not agree.

As my colleagues at Hall Brown have previously observed on this ‘blog, the continual overall decrease in marriage masks subtle trends.

One was noted only recently by Laura Guillon, the head of our Leeds office. She has written how a drop in marriage among younger age groups contrasts with substantial increases in the number of middle-aged divorced men and women choosing to wed (https://hallbrown.co.uk/second-time-around-the-mid-life-divorces-spurring-remarriage/).

Even more couples are choosing to set up home together without exchanging vows.

The same ONS’ figures which reveal a rise in one person households show that the number of individuals cohabiting despite not having married or been in a civil partnership has gone up by 99 per cent since 2002.

Among the over-50s, the increase is even more considerable – up 844 per cent in 20 years.

There has also been a rise in people cohabiting following a divorce or the end of a civil partnership.

Whilst the overall increase might seem slight (3.64 per cent in 20 years), the pattern is once more marked among those over-50 (up 117.6 per cent).

What that illustrates, I think, is that although the single life clearly appeals to a large number of people, there are still many individuals who desire company, regardless of whether they have experienced the pain of a failed relationship or not.

The growing popularity of cohabitation among those who are middle-aged or older reflects how much living together while unmarried carries far less of a stigma than it used to.

Of course, splits are, sadly, very much a fact of life. Cohabitation offers none of the financial security of marriage.

That is not only true for break-ups but bereavement too. Surviving cohabitees must contend with the challenges of navigating the intestacy rules rather than automatically inheriting the estate of their partners, something which widows or widowers can do.

Although there is much talk of a ‘relationship recession’, many people are still choosing to be part of a couple.

If they are going to be in a relationship, there is a need, therefore, to be aware of the differences in how both cohabitation and marriage are treated in law.

One could say that, to change the expression coined by Gwyneth Paltrow, individuals need to consciously couple to avoid unintended and unpleasant consequences.