Remarriage Statistics and YOU

While many of our divorcing clients think that they will never remarry, statistically, this is just not so. According to a recent report from the Pew Research Center, in 40% of new marriages at least one partner has been married before. And, in 20% of new marriages, both partners have been married before. All told, the US Census Bureau shows that almost 42 million adults in the U.S. have been married more than once. This is about 23% of all people who are married. The number of remarried adults has almost tripled since 1960, when there were 14 million (or 13% of all marrieds).

The increase of remarrieds is fueled by two trends. First, the rise in divorce has made more Americans available for remarriage. Next, the overall aging of the population has increased the number of widows and widowers available to remarry as well as given people more years in which to make, dissolve, and remake their unions.

A close look at the census data suggests another important trend: While marriage is on the decline in the U.S., previously married people are as willing as ever to jump back in. Divorced or widowed adults are about as likely to remarry today (57% have done so) as they were more than 50 years ago. By contrast, the share of all adults who have entered into marriage even once has fallen markedly, from 85% in 1960 to 70% in 2013. And about half of the previously married, who have not yet remarried, report they would like to try again. Clearly, it seems that some of us are just drawn to marriage and some are not.