‘Better stay single than with wrong partner’ — Divorce in Singapore increasing, women reveal ‘unreasonable behaviour’ of partner as main cause

About two-thirds of civil divorces in Singapore last year were from women, citing “unreasonable behaviour” as the top reason for the separation.

The number of marriages and divorces increased in 2021 compared to 2020, although Singaporeans are now putting off marriage, further extending the medium age for first marriages.

The Department of Statistics (DOS) released a report on July 6 which noted a total of 28,329 civil and Muslim marriages registered last year.

This was a 25.1 per cent increase from the 22,651 marriages registered in 2020.

At the same time, 7,890 marital dissolutions were filed in 2021, a 13.4 per cent increase from the previous year.

About 63.8 per cent of the civil divorces in 2021 were initiated by women. They cited “unreasonable behaviour” as the top reason for the divorce, while the men noted “living apart or being separated for three years or more” as the main reason.

Also included in the report was the medium age for first marriages, which increased to 29.1 years for brides and 30.5 years for grooms.

DOS added that diversity within marriages has fallen for the second year in a row, with 16.2 per cent of the registered civil marriages comprising individuals of different ethnicities.

Regarding qualifications of the individuals getting married, those with similar qualifications are on an upward trend.

Marriages between higher-educated brides and lower-educated grooms also increased to 18.2 per cent in 2021 from 17.5 per cent in 2011.

Meanwhile, marriages between higher-educated grooms and lower-educated brides fell to 12.3 per cent from 16.3 per cent over the same period.

Read the full report here.

Responding to the trends, netizens noted varying opinions in their comments. One Sheila Chetty said that “women no longer need to put up with poorly raised partners” as they have financial independence, which “changes the game.”

“I suspect many of them thought they could change the man, only to realise that it’s impossible to change a person,” said Facebook user Arthur Koo.

Netizen Shafee Mohd Nor shared some advice for the men: get the best lawyers and make everything formal.

At the end of the day, “being single is better than finding the wrong partner,” noted Facebook user Vanessa Kim.

Meanwhile, Facebook user Lisa Forza pointed out that divorce should be discussed before marriage, especially when there are children involved. /TISG

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