Couples are less likely to ask how to get a divorce once their children leave home, researchers have suggested.
Far from the empty nest leading to greater confrontations as some believe, many parents enjoy a new lease of life in their relationship when the children leave as they rediscover the joys of being a couple.
The researchers, who studied a group of women over 18 years of their lives, found a marked increase in the happiness of their marriages after their offspring had left to stand on their own two feet.
But I believe there is another side to this argument.
We are approached by an increasing number of empty nesters who have stayed together for the sake of the children or who suddenly discover when their children leave home they really do have nothing in common.
And because the relationships are longer and joint finances have built up over many years, the process of divorce can often be more complex and emotionally taxing.
Read more: Divorce and the over 50s
Andrew Woolley
Divorce Solicitor