According to research by divorce support service Amicable, over 40,500 people will search “divorce” online in January.
The figures further reveal that the cost of divorce to the taxpayer is rising and currently costs each adult £1,820.
A distinct increase in online searches for divorce can also be seen in data provided by Google Trends, which shows January 2016 and January 2012 as the two most popular months for divorce searches in the last ten years.
Katy Daly, co-founder of Amicable, said,
“In January, after the hype of Christmas, dissatisfaction peaks as a consequence of lots of time spent together, financial pressures, desire to make changes and unfulfilled expectations.
“Relationships don’t suddenly go wrong but January provides the first opportunity to reflect on issues that have been brewing and put on hold for months. It usually culminates in ‘divorce day’, the first Monday back to work after the Christmas break.”
She added that the current divorce system in England and Wales is bumping up the costs and making the process unnecessarily hostile.
She said that a change in the law to enable couples to divorce without having to blame their partner is long overdue and would make the system more contemporary, bringing it in line with other western countries.
