Divorce report: Austrians like to get married, but infidelity is a problem

Almost 45,000 women and men got married in this country last year. According to a survey by the digital market and opinion research institute Marketagent, 76 percent of Austrians still consider marriage to be contemporary. 89 percent are confident that their connection will last even after they say yes. However, one in four people has already given concrete thought to divorce, it said in a broadcast on Tuesday.

Infidelity is clearly the most common reason for separation (44 percent), after which 36.4 percent stated that they had grown apart. Emotional injuries (30.1 percent), the realization that they no longer fit together (18.8 percent) and addictive behavior (16.7 percent) were also cited as factors. Once the line has been drawn, 85 percent can agree on an amicable divorce, although the driving force behind the separation usually came from one party.

According to the divorce report, only a third can imagine seeking legal advice before getting married. Only 3.4 percent of those surveyed have signed a marriage contract. However, a quarter of the participants have already been through a divorce.

Before marriage: On average 5.5 years together

However, people in this country are not too hasty in taking the step towards eternal life together: the majority of people have prepared and planned the decision (62 percent). On average, lovers have been together for 5.5 years before they say “I do”. People see the act as a “mutual promise” (58 percent), “sign of love” (50 percent) or as an “intimate connection between two people” (48 percent). Marriage is perceived as “legal security” by a third.

Doubts about the eternal covenant are more pronounced among women. Almost a third of women have already given concrete thought to divorce. And almost six out of ten people know at least one couple who are only married on paper, according to the survey of 1,000 respondents, which was carried out in cooperation with the lawyer Susanna Perl-Lippitsch. “It is particularly exciting that on average (median) the divorce actually occurred in the much-vaunted, darned seventh year,” the broadcast said.

In almost a third of divorces there was friction over the division of assets (30 percent). In a quarter there was a dispute over custody and contact rights for the children (26 percent). According to the survey, four out of ten divorcees later regret not having been more legally informed before the wedding.