Re-Opening of Lockdowns and Return To Normal Appear To Reverse Improvements in Marriages

In June, 2704 married individuals responded to our survey regarding the impact on marriages from the re-openings after lockdowns. The responding individuals were married as of June 3, 2021.

The survey asked the following main question (with related questions below) :

Since the re-opening following the lockdowns of 2020/2021 and significant return to normal from the changes of the COVID-19 pandemic, has your marriage relationship been impacted?

The following options were provided:

• Since the reopening of lockdowns, my marriage relationship has not changed.
• Since the reopening of lockdowns, my marriage relationship has become worse.
• Since the reopening of lockdowns, my marriage relationship has become better

2704 people responded to this survey conducted June 3, 2021 to our email list.

Of the 2704 respondents:

• 13% answered that the pandemic had been good for their marriage
• 66% answered that the pandemic had not changed their marriage
• 21% answered that the pandemic had harmed their marriage

Contrast To Our Previous Poll

Lee Wilson’s organization, Love Dynamics, who owns MarriageRadio.com, conducted a similar survey in January of 2021 and found that the lockdowns and changes to life from the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to help marriage relationships. In that survey, 17% reported that their marriage relationship had improved during the lock downs whereas only 11% reported that it had done harm.

Mr. Wilson theorized that the lockdowns had limited interaction with others besides their spouse in addition to creating uncertainty and anxiety about the future. Such conditions might have contributed to couples placing more value on each other and felt grateful for having someone. Such conditions might also have caused deeper and more meaningful communication between the two as a result of more time together to move beyond small talk and to provide motivation to improve communication and interaction.

Now that society emerges from the lockdowns and closures, it is possible that the reintroduction to other relationships, hobbies, activities, and travel have decreased the perceived value increase of the individual and the relationship itself that happened during the lockdowns.

Male/Female Responses

Similar to our previous poll, women were more likely to say their marriage had improved than men.

Men were more likely to say that their marriage had become worse.

16% of women said that their marriage had improved compared to 11% of men.

26% of men said that their marriage was worse compared to 16% of women.

Question: Are You Considering Divorce?

Respondents were also asked if they were considering divorce as of June 3, 2021.

Of the respondents, 26% (703) said that they were considering divorce.

This percentage is higher than the 19.98% (284) who said that they were considering divorce in our January survey.

Demographics of Respondents:
47.7% of respondents were from the United States.
22.1% of respondents were from the United Kingdom
5.8% of respondents were from India
5.4% Canada
4.6% Philippines

Sex of Respondents:
53% female
47% male

Age of Respondents:

18-24 years 10.6%
25-34 years 24.3%
35-44 years 36.5%
45-54 years 15.3%
55-64 years 9.2%
65+ years 4.1%

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